


The Sun and the Sea God

by Equinurmae



Series: Shades and Colours [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Aquaphobia, Background Relationships, Big Scary Robots, Coming Out, Drunk Sun, F/M, Faunus Racism, GRIMM!!!, Homophobia, Kpop references, M/M, Mainly Sea Monkeys, Misunderstandings, Slow Build, Sun and Neptune are Both Idiots - Empirically Validated Fact, White Fang
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-18
Updated: 2017-06-24
Packaged: 2018-10-07 06:39:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 26
Words: 43,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10354374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Equinurmae/pseuds/Equinurmae
Summary: Set during the Beacon Dance, Weiss figures out that not being able to dance wasn't the only reason Neptune rejected her. Of course, being the excellent friend she is, Weiss decides to help, and somehow the rest of team RWBY gets in on the plan. However, after someone infiltrates the CCT, things suddenly get a lot more complicated...





	1. The Dance

Weiss Schnee sat to the side of the room, her legs crossed. She nodded approvingly as she gazed across the ballroom, pleased with what she and Yang had been able to do with the time they had. Light sparkled down from the glass chandeliers, bathing the dancefloor in a warm glow. Balloons and ribbons splashed pink and blue across the hall, and the orchestra played the waltz she’d ordered perfectly.

Blake was grinning as she danced with Sun, laughing happily. Weiss smiled. Their main objective had been accomplished! Ren and Nora were also twirling across the dancefloor, and even Penny was bobbing along whilst one of her bodyguards tapped his feet.

Ruby was watching from above and Weiss gave her a little wave. The girl waved back just before Yang joined her and the two of them started bickering. Weiss snickered, shaking her head wryly.

Just then, she heard footsteps before her.

“Hey, Weiss!” Neptune grinned.

Weiss raised her eyebrow. What did the blue-haired boy want with her?

He swallowed nervously. “Um…”

“Please,” she gestured, “have a seat.”

Neptune laughed nervously. “Thanks.”

“So…” Weiss moved in a tad closer.

Neptune gulped. “I’m sorry!” he said. “For rejecting you like that, I mean. I, err…” The blue-haired boy trailed off. “I was embarrassed.”

Weiss folded her arms. “Embarrassed? What, from talking to me?”

“No! I mean, a little, but…” Neptune stammered. “I was… um…”

“Yes?”

“I can’t dance.”

Weiss blinked. Neptune looked down into his lap guiltily.

 _Was…_ Weiss frowned. _Was he being serious?_

“So the reason you rejected me was because you can’t dance?” Weiss asked.

Neptune coughed awkwardly. “Um, yeah, that was the main reason…”

She raised her eyebrow. “The main reason?”

“Sorry?”

“You said it was the main reason, which therefore implies there was at least one other.”

Neptune laughed. “You really are clever, Miss Schnee.”

“So? What was the other reason?”

He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter.”

“It does if it concerns me,” she replied haughtily.

They were interrupted by laughter rippling through the crowd, and then… holy Dust, was that _Jaune? In a dress!?_ Weiss snickered as Pyrrha took his hand and some sort of electronic pop started playing, the beat pulsing through the walls and floor.

Neptune snorted as Nora dragged Ren onto the dancefloor and team JNPR started moving like some M-Pop group, all four of them dancing perfectly in synch to the music.

“It’s almost as if they planned this,” he commented.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if they did,” Weiss replied, tossing her hair. “So… what made you change your mind?”

“Huh?”

“You said you were embarrassed at first. What made you come talk to me?”

Neptune nodded. “You’re looking at him.”

They both watched Jaune and Pyrrha, the pair of them dancing merrily. Weiss’ eyes widened, and she smiled softly. The heiress was well aware she could be a bitch at times, but even so…

“You’ve got some good friends looking out for you.”

They continued watching the couples dance, and without thinking Weiss nearly asked Neptune if he wanted to dance, before remembering the poor boy couldn’t.

Discreetly, Weiss studied Neptune. The blue-haired boy was devilishly handsome in his tuxedo, the half-light in the ballroom making his skin appear more tanned than it really was. He was smiling fondly, and his cheeks were tinged a light red, although Weiss didn’t recall seeing him drink during the evening. She followed his gaze, and…

_Sun._

Neptune was gazing at Sun. Not only that, but he was blushing slightly as well. Neptune himself probably wasn’t even aware of it. Sun said something that made Blake laugh, and the faunus curled his tail around her, not quite touching, yet the sentiment there all the same. Weiss turned back to Neptune and saw his smile fade, leaving behind only a dull sadness in his eyes.

Weiss shook her head.

“Come with me,” she said, standing up.

Neptune blinked. “What?”

“We’re going outside,” she said, leaving Neptune no choice but to follow.

The night air was cool, a breeze chilling her skin as it whistled through the trees. It was dark, but the stars illuminated the light, twinkling brightly in the sea of indigo above them. Weiss wondered how many of them were really stars, and how many of them were planets…

“Weiss?” Neptune frowned. “What are we doing out here?”

“Come and walk with me,” she said, taking his arm. Neptune looked a little startled, but quickly regained his composure, running a hand through his hair.

“So…” he started.

“I know what the other reason was,” Weiss said.

“What?”

“The other reason why you rejected me,” she continued.

“Oh?” Neptune laughed nervously. “Tell me, what was it?” He tugged at his collar anxiously, his eyes darting around as if Weiss hadn’t already made sure there was no one in earshot.

“You like Sun.”

Neptune flinched. “Yeah, of course. He’s my best friend.”

“No, you dolt!” Weiss cried, exasperated. “I mean, you _like_ him.”

Neptune froze.

“No I don’t,” he said. “Not like that…”

Weiss folded her arms stubbornly. “You rejected me pretty bluntly, Neptune. The least you can do is not lie to me about why.”

Neptune swallowed dryly, scratching the back of his head.

“I…”

“I’m not going to tell anyone,” Weiss said gently. “I just want to know.”

Neptune closed his eyes, rubbing his forehead. “You’re… you’re right,” he whispered. “I… I like Sun.”

Weiss shook her head. “What are you going to do about it?”

He looked up. “Huh?”

“I said, what are you going to do about it?” she repeated. “I can tell this isn’t just some passing crush.”

“I can’t do anything, okay!?” Neptune hissed. “There’s nothing I can do…”

Weiss raised her eyebrow. “And why is that?”

“I don’t want to ruin our friendship,” Neptune admitted, clenching his fist. “Also… he’s got a thing for Blake.”

Weiss paused. “Yes, that is a problem.”

“Just…” Neptune sighed, turning his back to her. “I want to be alone for a bit.”

She snorted. “Oh no you don’t, you want to be with Sun, and I’m going to help you.” Weiss placed her hands on her hips, using a glyph to turn the boy around before he could run away.

Neptune’s eyes widened. “What? Why would you do that?”

“I like you, Neptune, and not only am I a good person, but I’m an excellent friend.” Weiss grinned. “Just leave your love life to me!”

Neptune sighed. “I regret this already.”

***

Sun’s eyes followed Neptune’s back as Weiss stole him away, the faunus’ tail drooping.

Blake snorted. “Was the only reason you asked me to the dance to make Neptune jealous?” she asked.

“What?” Sun blinked. “No, of course not! Okay, yes, maybe a little, but you’re my friend and I wanted to see you happy again and – wait. Neptune?”

Blake nodded.

Sun’s shoulders sagged. “How did you know?”

Blake smiled. “I pick up on these things.”

Sun sighed, his tail swishing along the floor. “I shouldn’t be feeling this.”

Blake frowned. “Why? Because you’re both guys?”

“No.” He shook his head. “Nep’s my best friend, and my teammate. Plus, he’s from a rich family, and I’m just a faunus…”

Blake had to resist the urge to slap him. “Don’t _ever_ use that as an excuse again!” she hissed. “There is nothing wrong with what you are, Sun, and I can guarantee Neptune feels exactly the same way!”

“I guess…” Sun shook his head. “Sorry, I wasn’t thinking. It’s no use, anyway.”

“Why not?”

“Neptune already likes Weiss.”

“Hmm…” Blake frowned, thinking. “Leave Weiss to me.”

Sun blinked. “Eh?”

Blake grinned. “You just found yourself a wingwoman, Mr Wukong.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello world! This is my first RWBY fic, and I hope I've done the characters justice. Please excuse me if anyone's a little OOC, and I'm sorry for any spelling or grammatical mistakes - I don't have anyone to proof-read this!


	2. Complications

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! So I've finally planned all of this out, and this fic will take a different direction to what I initially thought. I've tinkered with the actual events in volume two, and played a little with the order in which they happen. Hopefully everything will still flow smoothly! Once again, please tell me if I've made any mistakes!

Neptune groaned. He felt _terrible._ He was pretty confident the punch they’d served last night had been non-alcoholic, but you could never be sure. One of the other students might have spiked it; hell, _Yang_ might have spiked it. You never could tell what was going on in that blonde’s mind…

Neptune ran a hand through his hair, swinging his legs round the side of the bed. He sat up, blinking his eyes groggily. Sun was sprawled across the other bed, lying on his back with his mouth slightly parted. The faunus was dead to the world, snoring not-so-softly, and at some point during his sleep he’d managed to kick off all of his sheets onto the floor, leaving his bare chest uncovered. Neptune snorted. It wasn’t that cold anyway, so no harm done. The morning was quiet, probably due to the two empty beds in their dorm. The silence wouldn’t last for much longer, however, as Scarlet and Sage were due to arrive from Mistral later that day.

The longer Neptune stared at Sun, the faster the butterflies in his stomach churned, until a wave of nausea washed over him and –

_Oh shit._

**_Weiss._ **

 

He’d told Weiss the one thing he could never tell anyone, not even Sun. Especially not Sun. This was not good. Neptune’s fingers fumbled with his scroll as he typed out a message to Weiss, telling her to meet him _straight away._ Had she told anyone? She couldn’t have told anyone, right? She gave her word. But what if someone overheard? _What if Blake overheard and told Sun? **What if Sun overheard!?**_

Calm down. Breathe, Neptune, breathe.

His scroll pinged as Weiss replied, and Neptune sighed, standing up. He dressed quickly, the door clicking shut softly as he left.

***

Sun winced, rubbing his eyes. He woke up just as he heard the door close, and blinked, looking around the empty room.

“Neptune?”

***

Blake shook her head. “I can’t believe someone infiltrated the CCT during the dance,” she said.

“I can’t believe Ruby was in the middle of it, _again_ ,” Weiss cried, exasperated.

“She’ll be fine,” Yang waved. “Professor Ozpin only wanted to talk.”

“But what if she tells him we’ve been going after the White Fang?” Blake asks. “We could be in serious trouble.”

Yang shook her head. “She won’t.”

Just then, Weiss’ scroll pinged. She frowned, reading the text from Neptune. To be honest, she’d completely forgotten she’d agreed to help him. Sighing, she got up, tossing her hair.

“Where are you going?” Yang asked.

“Out,” she replied.

Blake looked at her sideways. “To see Neptune?”

Weiss frowned. “Yes, actually. Do you have a problem with that?”

Blake said nothing.

 

Neptune had asked to meet her behind the science building, in a small alcove tucked out of sight. This early in the morning, it was empty, with only birdsong to break the silence. Neptune was leaning against the wall, trying to act casual. He was dressed as suavely as usual, but his collar was crumpled, and his blue hair was messier than usual.

“Good morning,” he greeted, winking at her.

Weiss raised her eyebrow. “Okay, the first thing you need to work on is to stop flirting with every single girl you meet.”

Neptune slumped. “I’m sorry.” He looked up. “It’s a bad habit. You haven’t… told anyone, have you? Especially not Yang.”

Weiss snorted. “Of course not! Us Schnee keep our word, remember?” She sighed. “Besides, with what happened at the CCT, I’ve been preoccupied.”

Neptune’s brow creased, concerned. “Is Ruby okay?” he asked.

“She’s fine,” Weiss said, waving her hand.

“Good.”

They stood in silence for a while.

“So, err…” Neptune stammered. “What are you going to do? About, um…”

“About you and Sun?” she asked. “I don’t know, yet. What do you want me to do?”

“Could you…” He scratched his head. “Could you see if Blake likes him back? I don’t want to break them apart if that’s the case.”

“I can do that,” she replied. “Is there anything else I should know?”

Neptune shrugged. “Well, Scarlet and Sage are arriving today, so we’ll be down by the docks later on.”

Weiss frowned. “What about the field trip?” she asked. “Have you already decided on what you’re doing?”

He shook his head. “We’re waiting for all of team SSSN before we decide.”

“Right.”

Neptune’s scroll buzzed. He checked it, then sighed.

“Sun’s looking for me,” he said.

“Then go!” Weiss said, smiling wryly. “I’ll text you if I find out anything.”

Neptune nodded. “Thanks.”

As she watched Neptune leave, she heard the sound of someone ducking round a corner behind her. Weiss spun, drawing her blade.

“Who’s there!?” she cried.

Nothing.

Weiss frowned suspiciously, and gestured with her hand. Two people were caught by her glyphs, sending them tumbling into a heap before her. With a start, she recognised the black and yellow mess of her teammates’ hair.

“Really?” Weiss asked, a hand on her hip.

“Weiss!” Yang laughed nervously. “What a coincidence, meeting you here…”

“You were eavesdropping, weren’t you?”

The blonde winced. “Kind of…”

“In my defence, I got dragged along against my will,” Blake said.

Weiss snorted. “What about Ruby?”

Yang shrugged. “She’s still speaking with Ozpin.”

She shook her head. “How much of that did you overhear?”

“Not much…” Yang started.

“Enough,” said Blake.

Weiss raised her eyebrow expectantly.

“Okay, we kind of inferred that Neptune’s gay for Sun, but…” Yang trailed off, glancing at Blake. Weiss’ eyes narrowed.

“Blake?”

The faunus sighed, her ears twitching. “If it’s any consolation, Sun likes Neptune, too.”

Weiss blinked in surprise. “How do you know?”

“He told me.”

Yang grinned. “This is perfect, then!"

“No, you dolt!” Weiss cried. “They obviously don’t know the other reciprocates their feelings!”

“Then we just tell them,” Yang replied.

“We can’t do that!” Weiss said. “They need to confess for themselves!”

“Yeah, that’s always how it happens in books,” Blake added.

Yang rolled her eyes. “I’m sure a _lot_ happens in the types of books _you_ read.”

Blake frowned, taking a step back defensively. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Yang smirked. “What you read is your own business, but please don’t leave _‘Ninjas of Love’_ within reach of my younger sister.”

Blake blushed furiously.

Weiss shook her head. “Stop bickering, you two. We’ve got more to worry about than Blake’s erotica.” She checked her watch. “Ruby’s probably back by now, anyway.”

“We’d better hurry,” said Yang.

The others nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It'll likely be a week before I post the next chapter... Thanks for reading, anyhow. As always, any feedback would be greatly appreciated!


	3. Team SSSN

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't think of a chapter title, so I apologise if it's uninspired. Things begin to take a different turn in this chapter - I hope it works!

Despite it being late morning, the sun hung in the sky lazily. Sun and Neptune walked down the streets, ambling, really. The ship from Mistral only arrived early afternoon, so they still had plenty of time to do nothing in particular. Sun scratched his head, yawning.

Neptune snorted. “You can’t honestly tell me you didn’t get enough sleep.”

“Hey, I went to bed late,” the faunus protested. “Not all of us can be early birds!”

People were already beginning to crowd the streets, tourists making Vale much busier than it usually was. Thanks to the Vytal Festival, shops were attracting a lot more business than they normally did. As a result, they flaunted their wares brazenly; everywhere he looked there were flamboyant displays designed to catch the eye. It created a lively atmosphere, and the different colours made the streets feel warmer and more welcoming. With the amount of people from overseas, both humans and faunus alike, Sun almost felt as if he could be back in Vacuo, even if it were a little chilly. Sun stopped by a fruit market, eyeing the bananas hungrily.

“So where were you this morning?” he asked, fishing out his wallet.

Neptune scratched the back of his head. “Um…”

Sun paid the vendor and took his bunch of bananas, peeling one to eat now and holding the rest of the bunch with his tail.

“Were you with Weiss?” he asked.

“Well… yes,” Neptune admitted. “It’s not what you think, though!”

The faunus grinned.

“Seriously, Sun, it’s not!” Neptune pouted.

“And why not?” Sun asked, looking the blue-haired boy dead in the eyes as he ate his banana.

“C-Cut it out, Sun,” Neptune stammered, blushing.

He raised his eyebrow. “Cut what out?”

“You know, the… banana…”

“Man, I didn’t know you loved bananas so much.” Sun smirked.

Neptune refused to meet his gaze. “Sometimes I just hate you, you know.”

“You love me, really.”

Neptune mumbled something incomprehensible.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

The faunus shrugged. It seemed as if Neptune really wasn’t interested in Weiss, which meant he still had a chance. Now all Sun had to do was pluck up the courage to confess, and in a way that Neptune definitely wouldn’t be able to misinterpret…

***

Ruby sighed happily. “I can’t believe Ozpin let us go on that search and destroy mission!” she said.

Weiss shook her head. “I can’t believe you Dad _posted_ your dog to you, along with a week’s worth of dog food!”

Blake shuddered. “Physics definitely shouldn’t work like that, especially not with dogs.”

“What have you got against Zwei?” Weiss challenged, with Ruby echoing her.

The faunus’ ears curled. “I just don’t want him drooling all over my books…”

“Zwei doesn’t drool!” Ruby protested, just as her backpack shuffled suspiciously. The girl muffled whatever was in it quickly, laughing nervously. “Just… ignore that.”

“Whatever,” Yang said, stretching. “We’ve still got a couple of hours to kill before we need to set off.”

Ruby smirked, nudging Blake. “Do you want to go and say goodbye to Sun?”

Blake shrugged. “I didn’t see him at the amphitheatre.”

“Oh, he’s with Neptune, down by the docks!” said Weiss. “Their teammates are arriving today.”

“That’s nice.” Ruby smiled. “Did Neptune tell you yesterday?”

“This morning, actually.”

Ruby raised her eyebrow. “So while I was being interrogated by Ozpin and Ironwood, you were… on a date?”

Blake and Yang both stifled their laughter, although Yang didn’t quite succeed. Weiss’ face went bright red and she stepped backwards, waving her hands.

“No no no, it’s not like that!” she protested. “We’re just friends!”

“Right, like how Ren and Nora, or Blake and Sun are just friends?”

“Uh, Ruby?” Blake said. “Sun and I _are_ just friends.”

Ruby folded her arms sceptically. “Now you’re just lying to me.”

“No, seriously, he likes someone else, anyway,” the faunus protested.

“Who?”

“Neptune.”

Ruby’s mouth fell open in shock. “What…!?”

Yang frowned. “Chill, sis, it’s not that weird…”

“No no,” Ruby said. “I just didn’t think…”

Weiss snorted. “You _never_ think.”

“But how do you _know?”_ Ruby spluttered.

“He told me,” Blake replied.

“Neptune told Weiss he’s gay for Sun, too, but Weiss can’t say it herself because she _gave her word,”_ Yang said, mimicking Weiss’ voice.

“But then…” Ruby frowned, processing what everyone had just said. “If Sun likes Neptune, and Neptune likes Sun, then why aren’t they together?”

“Because they’re both idiots,” Weiss replied.

Ruby clenched her fist. “Then we have to help them!” she cried. “As huntresses it’s our duty to help those in need!”

“I wouldn’t say they’re in need, exactly…” Blake said.

“Did you forget we’re going to be away for a week?” Weiss pointed out. “Right now, we’ve got more pressing issues to deal with than matchmaking.”

“We’ll take care of it when we get back, then,” said Yang.

Ruby nodded. “For now, why don’t we go and meet the rest of team SSSN?”

***

Neptune stood very, very still, his fists clenched and his body tense. He tried to breathe in deeply, but it was as if a great anchor weighed down his lungs, dragging them through the abyss…

“You okay?” Sun asked gently.

Neptune shuddered, blinking back memories that were trying to resurface. “Yeah, I’m cool.”

They looked out across the ocean, the noontime breeze causing the fishing boats to bob up and down. The waters surrounding Vale weren’t barren, although they definitely weren’t as bountiful as was needed to sustain a population of that size, so the kingdom relied on imports from other, smaller fishing villages to the north. Several of their supply ferries were sailing in right now, and on the horizon, Neptune could just make out a dark smudge, cutting through the cold, suffocating waters, freezing –

He had to look away.

“We don’t have to go all the way out onto the pier,” Sun said, pointing. Neptune’s eyes followed his hand to a dry waiting area by edge of the docks. “We can wait for them there,” Sun suggested. “There are rails, too.”

Neptune swallowed nervously, sniffing. “I don’t know, Sun…” he said. “I might just wait here…”

The faunus pouted. “Aw, come on, Nep!”

With a start, Neptune felt Sun’s tail wrap around his hand. Hesitantly, he unclenched his fist and held on to it, the fur soft and warm.

“They’re our teammates, Nep, you’ve got to be there!” Sun grinned. “I’ll be with you the entire way.”

Neptune blinked back tears, nodding. “Yeah, okay.”

Sun beamed, throwing his banana skins in the bin and leading the way. The faunus’ tail tugged on Neptune’s hand and Neptune followed, willing his thundering heart to quieten down. Sun was right – Scarlet and Sage were his teammates. If there was anyone he should be able to overcome his pathetic fear for, it was them…

***

Sun craned his neck anxiously, straining to get a glimpse of red or green hair amongst the flock of people exiting the ferry. Where _were_ they? The faunus groaned in frustration, buzzing impatiently. Stowing away was so much more efficient then taking a ferry – it was free, and you didn’t have to fight through everyone else exiting the ferry upon arrival. He folded his arms in a huff, accidentally tugging on Neptune with his tail. The blue-haired boy nearly stumbled into him.

“Jeez, man, why are you so impatient?” he complained.

“We haven’t seen them in _ages!”_

Neptune frowned. “Okay, firstly, it’s been two weeks, and secondly, _you yourself decided to leave a week early!”_

Sun waved him off. “Yeah, yeah, whatever.”

He kept his eyes peeled, determined to be the first to spot them poke their heads out of the ferry. Of course, Neptune beat him to it.

“There they are,” Neptune said, waving.

Sun grinned, jumping. “Scarlet! Sage!”

Scarlet waved back, and Sage nodded at them, lugging a massive rucksack on his back.

“Long time no see, boys!” Scarlet called, flicking his hair. “Especially you, team leader. It’s almost as if… as if you ran off like a no-good stowaway, three weeks ahead of us!”

“Hey, I’m a great stowaway!” Sun protested.

Sage frowned. “You didn’t go and get into any trouble without us, did you?”

“Of course not.” Neptune snorted. “We’re model students.”

Scarlet coughed. “You, maybe. Sun, on the other hand…”

“What’s that supposed to mean!?”

Scarlet grinned.

Sage laughed, hugging them both. “It’s good to see you again, guys.”

“It’s been _way_ too quiet without you two idiots to keep us up at night,” Scarlet agreed.

Sun clapped his hands together. “Well, we’re not team SSSN without the four of us!”

“Too right.” Scarlet smirked.

“How was your… journey…” Neptune asked, trailing off. Sun felt the grip on his tail tighten as Neptune’s eyes flickered back to the water, and if the other two noticed, they kept quiet.

“Oh, it was fine,” Scarlet replied. “You’ll never guess who we met on the boat, though.”

The faunus leaned in forwards, curious. “Who?”

Three children leapt out from behind Sage, hanging off of him with their golden tails.

“Surprise!” they yelled, nearly knocking over the huntsman-in-training with their excitement.

Sun’s mouth fell open. “Yaya! Mara! Cuja!” He frowned. “What are you three doing here?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” asked a female voice. “We’re here for the Vytal Festival!”

“Mum!” Sun beamed, tackling his mother in a massive bear hug. He felt Neptune let go of his tail. “Where’s Dad?”

“He’s here too,” his mother replied, gesturing with her thumb. Sun’s Dad waved to them from the ferry, where he was busy dragging the children’s suitcases off of the boat. Sun could only imagine what his brothers and sister had crammed into their suitcases if his Dad was having that much trouble with them.

Jin Wukong was a looming hulk of a faunus, dirty blond hair closely cropped and shirt unbuttoned, like his eldest son. His wife, Huang Wukong, was small in frame yet massive in personality, her vibrant energy bubbling up even when she was standing still. Sun’s sister, Yaya, was eight years younger than him, and determined to follow in his footsteps. Ever since meeting team SSSN, his sister had vowed to lead a team of her own, full of kickass huntresses that would one day be able to rival her brother’s team. The twins, Mara and Cuja, didn’t have any ambitions yet, and their latest dream was to one day grow up to be gorillas.

***

“I’ll go help Dad!” Sun said, dashing off. Scarlet went too, and Neptune followed. However, he took one step on the peer and suddenly realised _he could see the ocean through the cracks in the planks,_ and paled. Hurriedly, he stepped back off the pier, very conscious he no longer had Sun to hold on to. Sage smiled at him sympathetically, while one of the twins tugged at his ears.

“So how are you, Neptune?” Huang asked warmly.

“I’m good, thanks,” he replied, running a hang through his hair.

“What’s Beacon like?” Sun’s mother asked. “The only thing Sun will tell us is about this Blake girl and what happened with the White Fang.”

Something panged in Neptune’s heart, but he forced himself to smile. “Beacon’s great!” he said. “The students are super cool, and the teachers are cool too. Well, most of them. Professor Port’s actually kind of dull, but…”

***

“Neptune!” Ruby cried from across the docks. She stood on her tiptoes, waving, and skipped over happily, humming. Neptune was speaking with a tanned, blonde woman in a white dress, and a dark-skinned man with green hair and three monkey children clambering all over him. The man’s jacket was open to reveal the tattoos on his chest and around his neck, and his sleeves were irritatingly asymmetrical, with a golden pauldron on his right shoulder but not his left.

“Are these your teammates?” Yang asked.

The woman giggled. “No, I’m afraid I’m just Sun’s mother,” she replied.

“Nice to meet you, Mrs Wukong,” Ruby replied, shaking her hand. Sun and a burly faunus that was obviously his father soon joined them, tugging behind them three enormous suitcases. They were accompanied by a skinny man with a crimson undercut and a tattoo under his left eye, who had a red jacket draped over his left shoulder.

“Oh, Sage, Scarlet, this is team RWBY!” Sun introduced, grinning. “Guys, these are my teammates, Sage and Scarlet.”

They introduced themselves, shaking hands.

“So you’re the infamous team RWBY I’ve heard so much about.” Scarlet grinned. “You made quite the first impression on Neptune.”

Ruby scratched her head. “Huh?”

Yang laughed. “That food fight was amazing!”

“Oh yeah, sorry about that.”

Sun’s sister climbed down from Sage, looking up at them with wide eyes. “Are you huntresses?” she asked.

“Yep!” Blake nodded.

“That’s so cool!” The little faunus grinned. “Will you promise to kick my brother’s butt for me in the tournament?”

Blake blinked. “Um…”

Sun’s brothers butted in at that moment. “Did you know Sage has tattoos?” one of them asked.

“Uh, yeah,” Yang replied. “I can see them.”

Sage’s coat billowed in the breeze, exposing more of his bared chest. The man shivered, obviously used to warmer weather.

“The ones on his back are so cool!” the other twin said, hopping down. “Also, he has a _massive_ sword!”

Yang and Scarlet snickered. Weiss snorted, tossing her hair.

“So what are you girls doing for the field trip?” Mrs Wukong asked.

“We got search and destroy!” Ruby said, punching the air. “Ozpin made a special exception for us!”

Sun’s sister seemed even more in awe, gazing up at Ruby with stars in her eyes.

“What are you guys going to choose?” Blake asked.

Neptune scratched the back of his head. “We don’t know, yet.”

Weiss snorted. “You know they’re going to run out of options if you don’t hurry, right?” she said.

“Oh shit!” Sun cried.

“Language!” his Dad scolded, covering the twins’ ears.

“Sorry!” he replied, grabbing Neptune’s hand subconsciously with his tail and pulling him along. Scarlet sighed, running after them, and Sage grimaced.

“I guess we’ll be seeing you later,” he apologised, bowing.

“You’d better catch up with them," Ruby said.

Sage nodded, breaking into a sprint. The girls were left with Sun’s family, standing around awkwardly in the middle of the docks.

“So…” Ruby whistled.

“Are your gloves also guns?” Sun’s sister asked, frowning at Yang.

“You bet they are!” Yang grinned.

***

They got to the amphitheatre just as the last students were filing out, and Neptune had to stop for a minute to catch his breath.

“This is my first time visiting Beacon,” Scarlet panted, “and I’m too sweaty to even appreciate it.”

“Come on, guys, it wasn’t _that_ long a run,” Sun complained.

“Not all of us have a monkey’s stamina, though,” Sage pointed out. Sun shrugged.

They heard footsteps, and Professor Goodwitch came up to them, her arms crossed. She peered at them through the bottom of her glasses, tapping her foot impatiently. Neptune smiled weakly, running a hand through his hair.

“It’s so good of you to finally join us, gentlemen,” she said. She did not sound pleased.

Sun didn’t seem to pick up on the professor’s irritation. “Where do we pick the missions?”

Goodwitch humphed, leading them over to a holographic screen.

“I’m afraid all the others are taken,” she explained. “This search and destroy mission is the only one left.”

Neptune blinked, sifting through the text, and then –

 

He couldn’t breathe.

 

A thousand chains anchored his soul to the dreaded depths, and he couldn’t feel, he couldn’t _see,_ his entire body engulfed by coldness, darkness, _water –_

 

“Nep?” Sun frowned, before he saw that small icon next to where it said ‘Location’, and his eyes widened with understanding.

Neptune was trembling now, yet still he had no control over his body. He felt hot and cold, as if he was about to faint, or vomit, or both. That icon still hung there, inconspicuous, not trying to hide anything. And of course, why would it?

 

All it said was _‘ocean’_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew! That took me a lot longer to write than I expected. I'll try and have the next chapter out by next week, but I can't make any promises. Comments and kudos are always encouraging!


	4. The Field Trip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! So this bit will probably go on for another two or three chapters, in which there'll be less of teams RWBY and JNPR. I don't have anyone to proof-read this, so I don't know if it's any good, or whether the plot's interesting or not. Feedback would be great!

“Is there a problem, Mr Vasilias?” Professor Goodwitch asked, frowning.

Neptune didn’t hear her.

“Neptune?” Sun asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. The faunus’ brows were creased with worry, and he cursed himself for not having the foresight to think that maybe, just maybe, choosing their mission _before_ picking up their teammates might have been a better idea.

Neptune blinked slowly, swallowing dryly.

“Mr Vasilias?” Goodwitch asked again. “Are you feeling alright?”

“No, yes,” he replied. “Yes, I’m good.”

Goodwitch eyed him warily. “Are you sure? You’re going to be fighting Grimm – that’s not something to be taken lightly.”

Neptune nodded. “I’ll be fine.”

If Goodwitch noticed the slight tremble in his voice, she didn’t comment. “You’d better get going, then, gentlemen. The huntress you’ll be shadowing will be here soon.”

They nodded and she walked away, muttering to herself. Scarlet coughed.

“Are you sure you’ll be alright, Neptune?” Sage asked.

“It’s no big deal, man,” Neptune replied, waving his hand. “It’s just a little… a lot… of water…”

“I don’t mean to be a dick, but don’t you think it’s about time you got over your fear of water?” Scarlet asked. “You won’t make a very good huntsman if you keep running away from puddles.”

“Haha,” Neptune laughed dryly.

“Cut it out, Scar,” Sun interrupted, irritated. “You promised you wouldn’t make fun of him, remember?”

Scarlet frowned. “I’m telling the truth. Look, Nep, maybe you should take this as an opportunity to get over your fear?”

Sage nodded in agreement. “We’ll all be there to support you.”

Neptune scratched the back of his head, his eyes downcast. “It’s not that simple. You guys won’t understand…”

“Then help us understand,” Sage cut off. “You’ll have to face your fears eventually.”

Neptune breathed in deeply, before smiling a little too sunnily to be genuine. “I’d appreciate it if you’d stop talking about me,” he said. “Now, why don’t we go and meet the huntress we’ll be assisting?”

Neptune left them without checking to see if they were following.

Scarlet whistled. “That boy’s got some issues.”

“He’ll get over it,” Sun said, but his tail drooped in between his legs, betraying his mood. _Neptune would be okay… wouldn’t he?_

The three of them walked over to where Neptune had met up with teams RWBY and JNPR.

“Ren and Nora wanted to shadow the sheriff of a nearby village,” Pyrrha was saying.

“We set out tomorrow,” Ren said.

“Aw, shame.” Neptune grinned. “You’ll miss out on the party. We’re going to the beach!”

Blake frowned, meeting Sun’s eyes. Oh yeah. He forgot he’d told her about Neptune’s fear.

“Dude, are you okay?” Yang asked.

Neptune faltered. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I don’t know, you seem a little…”

“Off,” Jaune finished.

The blue-haired boy snorted, flashing one of his signature smiles. “I’m fine.”

Weiss looked as if she was about to say something, but then Professor Oobleck poked his head out of the airship in front of them.

 _“Four_ minutes, ladies!” he called impatiently, ducking back inside.

Ruby smiled awkwardly. “Well, uh…” She gave them a thumbs-up. “Wish us luck!”

The girls left.

Pyrrha coughed politely. “I don’t believe we’ve been introduced to your teammates,” she said.

“I’m Scarlet,” Scar grinned, shaking her hand.

“Sage,” Sage replied, nodding.

“Those are some cool tattoos!” Nora admired. “They’re like… nipple wings.”

Sage frowned.

Scarlet laughed.

“Nora?” Jaune said. “Just… never say that again.”

Just then, a female voice interrupted them. “Which one of you is team SSSN?”

Sun stepped forwards. “We are.”

The woman who’d spoken cut an imposing figure. She was tall, and although her features were harsh, they were quite striking at the same time. Her hair was a deep violet, stained by a single streak of blue, and it was cut fiercely short. Her skin was deeply tanned, and her eyes were a rich purple, hidden behind a pair of sunglasses which, when combined with the hand on her hip, made her seem a little intimidating. The woman was wearing a purple crop top and a pair of denim shorts, the outfit completed by a small backpack and grey sandals. Sun noticed she had a tattoo of dolphins and fish circling around her right ankle, as well as a treble clef by the crook of her left elbow.

The woman peered at them from over the top of her sunglasses, then whistled. “A team of boys, eh?” she said. “Lucky me.”

“Are you the huntress we’re supposed to be shadowing?” Sage asked.

The woman nodded. “The name’s Roxo Azulado,” she replied, grinning.

They introduced themselves, shaking hands, whilst team JNPR slipped away, bidding them goodbye. They made their way over to an airship that was ready for take-off, its engine blasting wind in their faces.

“You guys got everything you need?” Roxo asked.

Sun nodded. “Yep.”

“And your weapons? A couple of years ago I had some idiot forget his weapon, so I put him on clean-up duty for the whole week.”

Scarlet snorted. “Yeah, we’ve got our weapons.”

“Good.” Roxo hopped onto the airship. “I’ll explain the situation once we’re moving.”

They joined her, and almost as soon as they were seated, the airship took off. As they rose, they caught a sweeping view of Vale, and Sun strained his eyes, as if he could make out which blurry dots were his family.

They hugged the coastline as they flew, and Neptune kept his gaze firmly inland, his body language relaxed yet his eyes tense. Sun brushed Neptune’s hand with his tail, trying his best to comfort him. Neptune smiled weakly.

“So what is our mission, exactly?” Sage asked.

Roxo sighed, looking out across the ocean. “Have any of you heard of a kraken?”

Neptune frowned. “It’s a species of Grimm that lives in the deep ocean…”

“Yeah, well apparently one’s been terrorising a small fishing village called Salport,” Roxo explained. “It’s been attacking their ships and drowning their sailors.”

Sage shook his head. “Is fishing the village’s only source of income?”

“It’s their main source of income,” she replied. “If this keeps up, it’ll attract other Grimm to the village, leading to a massacre.”

“So our job is to destroy the kraken?” Sun asked.

Roxo snorted. “Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Unless any of us has a water-based semblance, we won’t be able to search for it underwater.” Neptune shuffled uncomfortably. “We’ll have to wait until it surfaces.”

“That could take days…” Neptune said.

“Yes,” Roxo replied, “it could.”

The journey to Salport took a little over an hour, and they landed just as the sun began to set, casting dying embers across the surface of the ocean. The waves swelled softly, and the scent of brine hung thick in the air, carried in by fresh breezes. The town was indeed small, consisting of around one hundred buildings in total. From above, Salport had resembled a sea of red-tiled rooves. From the ground, Sun could see that the houses were painted in gaudy colours, although the paint was peeling and cracking with age, as if even the buildings themselves were mourning. The streets were made of smooth cobblestone, and although he didn’t see that many people to begin with, as they neared the beach, more and more of the town’s residents came out to greet them.

The town hall was on the opposite side of Salport from where they’d landed, which gave them the opportunity to pass by the beach and pier on their way there. Even if Sun hadn’t seen several of the smashed up boats anchored in the cove, the amount of flowers and offerings left on the pier was a stark reminder of the kraken, and of the townspeople that had already lost their lives to it. A little boy was standing by the edge of the pier, gazing out across the ocean. He looked as if he could have been eight or nine – only a year older than Sun’s brothers.

The faunus clenched his fists. As they entered the town hall, all he could think about was what the people of Salport had already lost, and what more they could lose if team SSSN failed their mission…

The mayor greeted them gratefully, an elderly woman with silver hair and a weathered face.

“We’re so glad you’ve come,” she said, shaking our hands warmly. Her grip was strong – desperate. “I… I don’t know what we’re going to do.”

Roxo took off her sunglasses, smiling reassuringly. “Don’t worry,” she said. “We’ll take care of the Grimm, won’t we, boys?”

Sun nodded, gritting his teeth. “We sure will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter should be up towards the end of this week. Thanks for reading!


	5. Stained in the Sky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took a little bit longer to write, but I hope it's alright.

While it was certainly a chilly morning, the midday sun brought with it a stifling warmth, broken only by the occasional pleasant breeze. Sunlight bounced off the sea, its surface a shimmering, pearly net, and the blue skies were stained by only a wisp of cloud. Seagulls flocked in the sky, squawking to one another and darting through the spray to snap at fish. Some of the bolder seagulls didn’t bother with the sea, instead scavenging the town for their meal, and honestly? Neptune didn’t blame them.

With the huntress and huntsmen-in-training keeping guard, the townsfolk had decided to try their luck at fishing, although the small boats didn’t have the courage to venture much further than the cove. Sun, Sage and Scarlet were out on the water, laughing with the fishermen whilst keeping their weapons at close at hand. Roxo was sunbathing, with no weapon in sight. Come to think of it, Neptune hadn’t seen the huntress’ weapon at all, and he had no idea what her semblance might be. Sun had asked her yesterday, and all she’d said was that it was ‘quite loud’.

Neptune sat on the wall by the edge of the beach, his feet dangling over the side. The blue-haired boy automatically found himself paying more attention to what was going on out of the water than on it, but he forced himself to look over to where his teammates were. The ocean was calm today, and Scarlet had assured him it was relatively warm and shallow. They knew how to swim, didn’t they? Even if they fell overboard, they’d be alright. That is, unless the kraken showed up…

Once again, Neptune found his eyes drifting over to Sun. He didn’t know why his body was so interested in Sun’s abs; he saw them practically every day. Right now, Sun was shirtless, however, so he could see more skin than usual. Although he couldn’t make them out from this distance, Neptune knew where the scars would be, from training gone awry and close calls during previous field trips. Sun’s tail was also in plain view, although the fishermen and –women he was with didn’t seem to mind. Neptune hadn’t seen any other faunus in the town, though, so he wondered if they were being polite to him just because he was a huntsman. Was he being paranoid? No one could hate Sun, with his giddy cheerfulness and vibrant personality. At least, not anyone decent.

Down by the beach, Roxo yawned. She stood up, stretching, and looked across the bay. She frowned, then spotted Neptune behind her.

“Yo kid!” she called. “Aren’t you going to join the rest of your team?”

Neptune winced guiltily, shaking his head. Roxo came over, sitting down next to him. They didn’t say anything at first, Roxo following Neptune’s gaze over to where Sun was.

“His tail’s quite hot, isn’t it?” she commented, tracing the treble clef by her elbow.

“Yeah,” Neptune agreed, before realising that he said it out loud and going bright red. “No, I mean…”

Roxo laughed, shoving him playfully. “I’m just messing with you,” she teased.

Neptune blushed, stammering, before noticing that the huntress was studying him.

“You know,” she started, “all huntsmen are afraid of something.”

He blinked. “Sorry?”

“Fear,” Roxo repeated. “We all have it. It’s completely natural.”

Neptune snorted, not bothering to ask how Roxo figured it out. He supposed it was pretty obvious, anyway.

“Not everyone’s fear is as ridiculous as mine, though.”

Roxo paused, hesitant. “I… I was afraid of the dark.”

He frowned. “The dark?”

She laughed, shaking her head. “I know, right? Me, a huntress, afraid of the dark. As you can imagine, it didn’t help when facing the Creatures of Grimm.”

“What happened?” Neptune asked.

“I overcame it,” she replied, gazing out to sea. “I had no choice, really. The only reason I’m here now is because my teammates forced me to face my fear.”

Neptune closed his eyes.

 

Ghosts danced in his mind, haunting his memories. Shadows clawed at him, tearing at his throat, drowning…

 

“How?” he whispered.

Roxo smiled softly. “One step at a time,” she said.

She patted his back, standing up. Sage and Scarlet were sailing in, their nets not empty, but definitely not full. Sage’s net had slightly more fish in it than Scarlet’s, and they were bickering about it good-naturedly.

“Trust your teammates,” Roxo said. Neptune turned, but the huntress was already walking away. He frowned, because he could have sworn her voice came from right next to him…

***

The sun was hovering just above the horizon, and the sky was already tinged a deep rose. Most of the boats were coming in now, and Sage and Scarlet were already on the pier, helping the fishermen and –women with their catch.

Breathing deeply, Neptune clenched his fists and walked up to the pier. The sand was soft underneath his feet, yet the closer to the shoreline he got, the wetter the sand became. It got damp and grimy underneath his feet, and where he walked the beach bled pools of lukewarm seawater, leaving behind a trail of footprints. Neptune backed away from the water’s edge and climbed up onto the pier, wiping his feet. His body felt heavy, yet he focused on Scarlet and Sage, shutting everything else out. Well, everything except Sun, who was still on the water.

Scarlet blinked in surprise, then grinned. “You missed out,” he said, hauling his catch. “We had a party without you.”

The fishermen laughed, and Sage’s mouth curled in amusement.

“Thank you so much,” one of the fishermen said. “We caught more fish today than we have in weeks!”

Neptune smiled.

“It’s odd how we didn’t see any sign of the kraken, though,” said Sage.

“Grimm are attracted to feelings of negativity,” Neptune mused. “Perhaps your good spirits kept the creature at bay…”

The fisherman shook his head sadly. “If only that was the case…”

He glanced over to the end of the pier, where a little boy stood gazing out across the horizon. He’d been there when they’d woken up, actually. Neptune frowned suspiciously. Hadn’t he been there the day before, too…?

The townspeople left, taking their catch with them. They were singing and laughing, yet each of them stopped occasionally to look at a flower or an offering left for those taken by the sea.

Neptune stood with Sage and Scarlet, watching Sun. The fuanus was speaking animatedly with the people on his boat, his tail swishing through the water lazily.

“How long do you think he’s going to stay out there?” Neptune asked. “It’s nearly dusk.”

Sage shrugged. “He’s determined to win the bet.”

Scarlet pouted. “It’s not fair if his crew get longer to fish.”

“What bet?” Neptune asked.

“We’ve bet fifty lien on who can catch the most fish,” Sage said. “At the moment it’s me, but Sun will probably win.”

“By cheating,” Scarlet added under his breath.

Neptune shook his head wryly.

“So how come you’re… here?” Scarlet asked. “You know, on the pier? I thought you were…”

Neptune sighed. “I thought about what you said, and… you were right. I have to get over my fear.”

Sage smiled. “Well, we’ll be – ”

Just then, a shadow rippled through the ocean.

Neptune started. “Sun!” he screamed.

The faunus beat him to it, however. Ruyi and Jingu were locked and loaded, and Sun fired several rounds into the ocean, and the murky silhouette underneath. Before anyone else could make a move, however, the kraken submerged, vanishing once again into the inky depths. The slapping of waves against the pier was the only thing it left in its wake…

Sun and the fishermen with him hauled up their nets and made for the safety of land at a break-neck pace, with Sun keeping watch over the stern. Neptune’s heart was racing, his breathing heavy, and he clutched his trident, static buzzing at the tip…

His blood was roaring in his ears, yet everything was silent. The winds spoke in hushed whispers, and even the sea held its breath, the seagulls spiralling away.

The townsfolk had fled, seeking refuge behind closed doors and shuttered windows. The only ones left on the pier were them and the young boy, frozen with terror.

 

_Where was it?_

Sun would make it to the pier any minute now, yet…

 

A splash.

 

The kraken?

 

Neptune’s palms were slick with sweat, his grip on his trident slipping. Sun – the ocean – was beyond his control. He could do nothing but watch, powerless –

 

The boy took a step backwards, bumping into Sage and squealing. It was as if all of the sound came crashing back at once: the roar of the boat’s engine, seagulls crying in alarm, fishermen yelling amidst the whistling of the wind…

“It’s not here, anymore,” said Roxo.

Neptune jumped, brandishing his trident. Roxo pushed it away from her neck with a finger.

“Where did you come from?” Scarlet frowned.

“I’ve been here all along.” She shrugged.

“How do you know the kraken’s gone?”

Roxo raised an eyebrow. “Can you hear anything?”

Scarlet blinked. “What the hell does that mean?”

Even if Roxo had answered, it would have been lost amongst the clamour of the boat that had just arrived. Fishermen were shouting to each other as they unloaded their catch and lowered the sails. One of the men jumped onto the pier as soon as he could, running to the little boy.

“Aegeus!” he cried, hugging the boy tightly. “You blessed fool, why didn’t you run inside with the others?”

“You were still out there,” he replied, his lip trembling. “Please, Uncle Jay, you can’t die too…”

The man sighed softly. “Oh, Aegeus,” he said. “I’m not going to leave you.”

Neptune turned away from that tearful scene, and – Sun.

“This is what comes of your stubbornness!” Scarlet exploded. “If only you hadn’t insisted on staying out longer than the rest of us, you wouldn’t have nearly died!”

“Dude, chill.” Sun frowned. “Nothing actually happened.”

“But what if it had? You could have lost your life over some stupid bet!”

Sun grinned. “A bet that I won.”

Scarlet looked as if he were ready to punch their team leader in the face. Sage looked as if he couldn’t decide between helping him and holding him back. Neptune…

 

Neptune just hugged Sun.

 

The faunus froze, his tail going rigid, and Neptune breathed him in deeply.

“You idiot,” he whispered, holding him tightly.

He felt Sun’s tail curl around him, followed closely by his arms.

“I know,” said Sun.

That was when the tears came. Neptune sobbed into the crook of Sun’s neck, his whole body shaking. All over again, the ocean… Sun could have been… He could have been…

Sun hushed him softly, stroking his hair. “Let’s get onto dry land, alright?”

Neptune nodded.

***

They were sitting on the balcony of their room, just him and Sun, staring up at the night sky. It was a clear night, the moon bathing them in a warm glow despite the cool air. Stars spilled across the sky, gleaming softly.

“I wonder how many of those stars are actually planets?” Neptune asked absent-mindedly, leaning on the railing.

Sun shrugged from up on the roof. “How would I know?”

Neptune snorted.

“It was a brave thing of you to do, stepping out onto the pier,” Sun said. A pause. “I’m proud of you.”

Neptune let the night hide his blush. “Thanks, man. I’m proud of me, too.”

Sun dropped down, leaning next to him. They stood in silence for a while, gazing up at the heavens.

“Do you ever wonder if there are other universes?” the faunus asked. “You know, with different stars and stuff.”

“According to quantum mechanics, there exists an infinite number of universes,” Neptune replied.

Sun elbowed him. “Nerd.”

Neptune elbowed him back. “Intellectual.”

Sun laughed softly. “So according to your nerd theory, I’m a god in another universe?”

“I suppose we could both be gods in another universe,” he replied.

Sun grinned. “I wonder what kind of god I would be!”

“A monkey god,” Neptune replied almost instantly.

“A badass monkey god?”

Neptune grinned. “Badass enough to defy the heavens,” he said. “What about me?”

Sun thought for a moment. “You’d be the god of the seas.”

Neptune paled. “That’s not funny.”

“No, seriously!” Sun laughed. “You’ve got blue hair and wield a _trident_ , for goodness’ sake!”

Neptune glared at him. “You’re laughing now, but I would totally win if we fought.”

“Oh yeah?” Sun raised his eyebrow. “Come at me, bro.”

Neptune shoved him playfully. “Idiot.”

“You love me, really.”

Neptune turned away, smiling.

“Yeah.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you think? Comments and kudos would greatly be appreciated! It's the Easter holidays now, so hopefully I should have more time to write...


	6. Screaming at the Horizon

Sun woke up bright and early the next morning. He made his way downstairs, humming to himself, then stopped. Something was wrong. Was it the humming? No, he usually woke up bright enough to hum… ah. It was the ‘early’ bit. He’d woken up _early._ Dear god, was something wrong with him!? Was he ill? He didn’t feel ill. No, instead he felt rather wonderful…

Oh yes. Sun knew what it was.

 

_Neptune glared at him. “You’re laughing now, but I would totally win if we fought.”_

_“Oh yeah?” Sun raised his eyebrow. “Come at me, bro.”_

_Neptune shoved him playfully. “Idiot.”_

_“You love me, really.”_

_Neptune turned away, smiling._

_“Yeah.”_

 

Sun sighed. Apparently, Neptune now possessed the ability to make him wake up early with a single word – _yeah._

It wasn’t anything special – a single word that rolled off your tongue and could mean a thousand and one things, and yet…

Sun smiled.

Neptune probably thought Sun had said ‘I love you’ platonically. Or, more likely, he thought he’d been joking. Perhaps Neptune hadn’t heard him at all, but nevertheless, Sun had woken up early.

When he got to the breakfast room, he saw that Roxo was also awake, although judging by the expression on her face, she really didn’t want to be.

“Good morning!” Sun grinned.

“You’re too loud,” Roxo grumbled.

Sun grabbed himself a banana, and sat down. “So what’s the plan for today?” he asked.

Roxo raised her eyebrow. “Plan? What makes you think I have a plan?”

“Why else would you be up this early?”

Roxo muttered something under her breath.

“What?”

The huntress sighed, sitting upright. “There are some Grimm out in the forest that need dealing with.”

Sun frowned. “We can take care of them.”

She shook her head. “I need your team here in case the kraken appears.”

“But you’re more experienced than us.”

“Yes, but there’s only one of me,” Roxo explained. “If the kraken _does_ appear, shout and I’ll come running.”

“How will you hear us?” Sun asked.

She grinned. “Trust me, I’ll hear you.”

He leaned forwards. “Is it your semblance?”

“Perhaps.”

Sun sat back, thinking. He didn’t want to put his team in any danger, but as huntsmen-in-training it was inevitable that they’d face a situation like this…

“Do you think you can handle it?” Roxo asked.

Sun nodded. “No problem.”

***

When Neptune woke up, two people had already left the room. The first was Sage, but that didn’t surprise him. The second must be Scarlet, then, because Sun never – no, wait, Scarlet was getting dressed in the corner.

“Sun’s already up,” the redhead said.

“What?” Neptune mumbled sleepily, rubbing his eyes.

Scarlet rolled his eyes. “Sun got up before Sage, apparently.” He smirked. “I wonder why?”

Neptune frowned. “Me too.”

Sure, he’d said ‘yeah’ last night, but it wouldn’t be the first time he’d played along with Sun’s jokes. It couldn’t be the kraken, either, because then they’d have woken him up, too.

Scarlet snorted. “See you downstairs.”

Neptune paused. “Yeah…”

***

“I don’t believe you,” Neptune said.

Sun pouted. “Why not?”

“You never just ‘get up’!” he cried.

“He got up early on the day he left for Vale,” Sage pointed out.

Neptune folded his arms, glaring pointedly at the faunus.

Sun smirked. “You know you love me, really, Nep.”

Neptune stammered, opening and closing his mouth like a startled fish. Sun grinned.

Roxo rolled her eyes. “I’d say get a room, but I’m leaving anyway.” She stood up, and Neptune noticed two thin strips of metal strapped to her waist. They resembled knifes, but they were a bit too thick, and not exactly the right shape…

“How long will you be gone?” Sage asked.

Roxo shrugged. “Maybe four, five hours?”

“What if you’re gone for longer?”

“You don’t come after me,” she replied. “The kraken’s still out there, and this town needs protecting. If I’m not back by nightfall, then notify Beacon.”

They nodded. As Roxo left, Neptune looked out of the window, and noticed that the boy, Aegeus, was already standing by the edge of the pier. He made a mental note to go and talk to him later.

Scarlet turned to him. “Are you going to go out on the water today?” he asked.

Neptune clenched his fists. “Um…” He swallowed dryly. “Probably not…”

Sun grinned, wrapping his tail around Neptune’s shoulders. “What if I take you down to the shore afterwards? You could try getting your feet wet.”

Neptune shook his head. “I don’t have a problem with getting wet, but…”

“It’s the ocean,” Sage guessed.

Neptune barely nodded.

Scarlet hesitated. “What… happened?”

Neptune shook his head, clenching his eyes shut, and his teammates knew when to stop asking questions.

***

Sun and Neptune were walking over to the pier when they met the captain of the boat he’d sailed on yesterday, an older man named Jay. Sun also recognised him as Aegeus’ uncle.

The captain held up a hand in greeting, and Neptune saluted him in return.

“Morning!” Jay said cheerily. “Fair weather we’ve got, isn’t it?”

“Yeah!” said Sun, shielding his eyes. “Are we going to be going out any further, today?”

The old man shrugged. “I don’t see why not.” He coughed. “Will your friend be joining us?”

Neptune blinked. “Oh, no, no,” he stammered. “I’m in charge of securing the shore.”

Jay chuckled. “I see.”

Neptune looked out across the pier, and Sun followed his gaze to the boy sitting there.

“Is he your nephew?” Neptune asked.

“Who, Aegeus?” said Jay. “He’s my sister’s son. He’s a lovely boy, but ever since his parents were lost at sea, he just…”

Neptune froze ever so softly, the change in his demeanour almost imperceptible.

Sun grit his teeth. “Did the kraken take his parents?”

The captain frowned. “I don’t think so... If I remember correctly, it only showed up a couple of days after the shipwreck.” He shook his head. “It’s a terrible thing, the sea.”

Neptune’s brows creased. “Has he been sitting there every day since his parents died?”

Jay nodded. “It’s as if he’s… waiting for them to come back. Honestly?” The captain sighed. “I don’t know what to do with him. Every day, before and after school… A boy his should be out playing with his friends, not mourning such a tragedy…”

Sun’s heart grew heavy. “If only there was something we could do…”

“I’ll talk to him,” said Neptune.

“Really?”

Neptune turned away. “It’s the only thing I can do.”

Sun bit his lip with worry. He’d known Neptune for a long time, and he knew when something was wrong. His body was tense, and the blue-haired boy wasn’t even trying to hide behind a smile…

***

Neptune sat down next to Aegeus. The boy acknowledged him with a glance, then went back to staring at the horizon. His uncle shook his head sadly as he and Sun boarded the boat, unmooring.

Sun waved at them, shouting “Wish me luck!” just before yelling to Scarlet and Sage about another bet. Scarlet shouted backs several things that definitely shouldn’t have been broadcast across the harbour, and Neptune blushed slightly.

Aegeus frowned. “What’s a cockslut?” he asked, looking up at Neptune.

Neptune sighed. “Ask your uncle when he gets back.”

They sat in a comfortable silence, watching the fishermen cast their nets.

“Shouldn’t you be in school?” Neptune asked.

The boy frowned. “It’s Sunday.”

“Do you come here in your free time, then?”

Aegeus nodded. “Before and after school.”

Neptune hesitated, as if he didn’t know the answer. “Why?”

Aegeus hugged his knees, glaring at the ocean. “They’ll come back.”

“Who?” Neptune asked slowly. “Your parents?”

Aegeus said nothing. Neptune breathed in deeply, stilling his heart and locking away his memories. This boy – Aegeus – was just like him. Just like he’d been, trapped in his loss…

“They won’t come back,” said Neptune, his eyes scanning the swirling waves. “They’re gone. You have to accept that.”

“That’s not true!” Aegeus cried, standing up. “The bodies were never found. They’re still out there! They have to be…”

Neptune’s eyes hardened, and he clenched his fists. “It’s the ocean. They’ll never find the bodies.”

“They could still be alive!” Aegeus shouted, his lips trembling. “Mum, Dad…”

Neptune clutched his head, trying to still the storm inside of him, his wailing past…

“They’re dead,” he said, standing up.

Aegeus’ eyes widened, and he took a step back.

“Your parents are dead, and nothing you ever do will bring them back,” Neptune whispered. “No matter how much you hate the ocean, or how much you hate yourself… Staring day after day into the horizon…”

All of the boy’s pain, all of his grief and rage, like a beacon pointing out to sea –

“You’re wrong! They’re not – ”

“THEY’RE DEAD!” Neptune screamed. “They’re dead, they’re dead, THEY’RE DEAD! The ocean took them! Do you understand? They’re GONE!”

_Howling winds, roaring waves, the frenzied, maddened sea –_

_“Neptune!” someone screamed, fighting the tempest, but the ocean dragged Neptune under, stealing his breath –_

All his grief, all his rage, all his pent-up hatred and _pain –_

 

 

The ocean exploded, and with it came the kraken.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was originally going to be longer, but I decided it would be more dramatic to split it into two parts. ;) Feedback is always welcome!


	7. The Grimm

The kraken burst from the ocean as if it were tearing through a watery womb, black tentacles cutting through the spray. The bulk of its body was still under the surface, but two red eyes were burning like suns underwater, radiating malevolence.

There was screaming – so much screaming.

Neptune – was frozen – could only watch as the kraken brought down a dread tentacle upon a ship, its suckers viciously spiked –

Sage leapt forwards in a surge of green energy, swinging his sword. The sheer force of his attack threw back the tentacle, but his blade could find no purchase on the slippery flesh, leaving barely a scratch.

Neptune was frozen in horror, his eyes wide.

 

_He had done this._

 

His rage, his torment, losing control of his emotions like that… _He_ had summoned the kraken. His fault, all over again… His hands were trembling, and he couldn’t… he couldn’t…

“Neptune!” Sun yelled. “Snap out of it, man!”

Sun and Scarlet were firing madly, their bullets a mere inconvenience to the Grimm. The fishermen were frantically trying to reach shore, but the kraken wouldn’t let them, tentacles writhing through the water.

Neptune breathed, stilling his heartbeat. “Run to the shore,” he told Aegeus, spurring the boy into action.

Neptune unlocked his gun, changing it into a trident and flipping it to the highest voltage.

“Get out of the water!” he cried, settling into a stance and raising his weapon.

With a yell, Neptune brought his trident down, using all of his weapon’s power in a single, desperate attack. If this didn’t work –

But it did.

For the blink of an eye, the ocean was ablaze with lightning. Static cut through the waves, striking the Grimm underneath with a clap of thunder. He shielded his eyes as the kraken blasted them with an ungodly screech, the force of the creature’s cry pushing him several steps backwards. The sea was littered with the charred bodies of fish and other sea-life, and with them, the kraken surfaced. Its eyes were burning madly, and its mantle was covered in shifting, mesmerising white marks.

Neptune checked the power on his weapon – zero. He was out of dust, too. It, and he, were useless now. His teammates were out there, in mortal danger, on the bloody _ocean,_ and there was nothing left he could do.

He was powerless.

Everything was going wrong; everything was out of control –

He could only watch as Sun leapt onto a tentacle, the faunus whooping ecstatically as he ran up to the kraken’s head, brandishing his staff. He struck its eye and the creature screamed, tentacles flailing.

Sun jumped, dodging tentacles and shooting the kraken.

Sage followed, his blade shimmering green. He yelled, charging, and sank his blade into the kraken’s mantle, dragging his sword down to carve up its head, blood spraying everywhere. Scarlet cried out as a tentacle cracked into Sage, sending him slamming into the ocean. Scarlet dived in after him without a second thought, and –

It was as if Neptune felt the impact of the kraken’s tentacle as it hit Sun, wrapping around him. Sun’s weapon was knocked out of his hands, sinking to the depths below, and the faunus screamed as the kraken tightened its hold, its barbed suckers cutting into his soft flesh.

 

The world went still.

 

_A hand reached towards him, yet as Neptune tried to grab it a jet of water threw him backwards, pushing his sister further and further away –_

No.

 

Not Sun.

He couldn’t lose Sun, too.

 

Neptune roared, lost in a blind fury, and he cast his weapon aside, charging. His feet danced across the surface of the water, and as he charged the ocean charged with him, the water responding to his rage.

As he screamed, a wave rose up behind him, carrying him.

Sun’s eyes widened and his mouth parted in fright, just as the weight of Neptune’s semblance pummelled into him, Neptune’s eyes glowing a fierce, voracious blue.

The kraken’s tentacle was completely obliterated, blood staining the ocean red. Amongst the maelstrom of water, Sun reached out to Neptune. Their fingers brushed, but as soon as they touched Neptune lost control and the ocean came crashing back down, ripping them apart.

All of a sudden Neptune was back again, except he was swimming, drowning, fighting his way above the waves. The ocean was black and red, the storm he’d brought beyond anyone’s control. The kraken was still there, screaming in pain and anger, and he could hear Sun yelling, swimming towards him desperately, yet Neptune couldn’t see him.

He was sinking, drowning, the ocean taking him to the same place it had taken his sister, the kraken, still raging –

***

Roxo sighed, standing on the pier with a hand on her hip.

She held a strip of metal in each hand, and flicked her wrists. With a click, they unfolded into twin fans, glowing purple with dust. Roxo crouched, whistling, and she pushed off, a wave of sound propelling her into the air.

She waved her fans, whistling as she did so, and crashes of sound carried her through the air like a leaf dancing in the wind. She spun in mid-air, striking with her fans, and the sticks shot out like knives, burying themselves in the kraken’s mantle and head. Each blade flashed violet, beeping…

Roxo landed on top of the mast of a boat, and snapped her fingers. The sound resonated with the crystal in each blade, and –

 

The kraken exploded.

 

It was ripped apart by purple dust, and even as the gore rained down on them it disintegrated into ash, falling like black snow.

Roxo hopped down onto the deck, turning to the captain of the boat.

“I don’t suppose you could stop to pick them up?” she asked, nodding to the huntsmen-in-training floundering around in the ocean.

The captain’s mouth just hung open, and she blinked. Roxo sighed.

***

Neptune felt his eyes grow heavy and his limbs go weak. The ocean enveloped him with tendrils of cold and darkness, and as he drowned, he laughed. How ironic – his semblance was to control water, yet… he couldn’t swim. It was pathetic, really. All of this was pathetic. He’d lost control trying to save the man he loved, and yet he’d only ended up making it worse. The kraken was still out there, and he was drowning. Neptune had accomplished nothing…

He felt a tail wrap around his waist and Sun grabbed him from under his arms, kicking. They broke the surface and Neptune gasped, spluttering and coughing up saltwater. Sun held onto him, keeping them both afloat. He was saying something, but Neptune was shivering, crying…

“Ahoy!” Roxo yelled. “Are you two idiots doing alright?”

Sun swam towards the boat as it pulled up beside them, and Sage grabbed onto his hand, pulling both of them up onto the boat. People were speaking to him, and someone put a towel over them, but Neptune could only stare ahead blankly.

Roxo crouched, looking into his eyes and calling his name, over and over again, yet his voice wouldn’t work.

 

It was all his fault.

All of it – he was to blame.

 

Even after they reached the shore, Scarlet and Sage stayed right beside him, and Sun never let go.

***

The needle stung as it bit through his skin, and Sun hissed.

“Stay still,” the medic said sternly, stitching his wounds. “You’re lucky the kraken’s teeth weren’t poisonous, or you’d be dead by now.”

Sun groaned. “I certainly _feel_ dead.”

Roxo spoke up from where she was leaning against the wall in the corner of the room:  
“You shouldn’t joke about that,” she said.

Sun looked down. “Sorry.”

The faunus’ body was bruised and heavy, and he was covered in cuts from the kraken’s teeth. Luckily, none of his bones were broken, and Sun knew it could have been a lot, lot worse. If not for Neptune…

The medic finished, leaving the room to tend to the others.

“I’m sorry it took me so long to get back,” Roxo apologised. “There were more Grimm than I’d anticipated.”

Sun snorted. “You saved us.”

“I guess I did.”

“Was the explosion your semblance?” Sun asked.

She shrugged. “Kind of. My semblance is sound; it triggered the dust crystals in my weapons.”

“Oh.”

Roxo’s eyes narrowed. “Speaking of semblances… What happened?”

He closed his eyes, shaking his head.

 

_Neptune roared, surfing a colossal wave. His eyes were a ravenous, maddened blue, devoid of all expression but rage, and – Sun was afraid._

_This… this wasn’t Neptune._

 

“I don’t know,” said Sun. “Neptune just…” He gestured with his hands, trying to find the right words.

“Lost control,” Roxo said.

Sun nodded.

She sighed. “With semblances as powerful as his, if you don’t exercise them regularly, they can consume you.”

Sun clenched his fist. “I had no idea what his semblance was.”

Neptune had always dodged his questions, and Sun hadn’t wanted to push him…

“No one did,” she replied. “He kept it locked away tightly, hidden.”

Sun’s throat went dry. “I…”

“Speak with him,” said Roxo, and when Sun looked up she wasn’t in the room anymore.

He got up slowly, shrugging on his shirt and wincing when the fabric brushed against his wounds. Sun yawned, climbing the stairs slowly. When he entered his room, Neptune was sitting on his bed, staring into his lap. Scarlet and Sun were hovering over him anxiously, but they stood up when he closed the door behind him.

“Sun!” Sage said, and Neptune looked up. The blue-haired boy blinked back tears, and the faunus smiled softly.

Scarlet held out his staff. “You dropped this.”

Sun blinked. “Thanks,” he said, taking it. It hadn’t even occurred to him that his weapon should have been at the bottom of the sea by now. “You saved it for me?”

Scarlet grinned. “You owe me.”

“Yeah.”

They sat down, Sun next to Neptune. His tail was about to curl over Neptune’s shoulders, but… he hesitated.

“Neptune,” said Sun. “Are you… okay?”

Neptune breathed in deeply. He swallowed dryly, then opened his mouth, about to say something.

“I…” His voice came out as barely a whisper. “I had a sister.”

Sun met Sage and Scarlet’s eyes, but neither of them dared say anything.

Neptune closed his eyes. “We… we were on a cruise, on the way to Atlas, when…” He shuddered. “There was a storm, and a Grimm struck the ship, breaching its hull. My parents tried to reach us, but… my sister and I were thrown overboard.”

Sun curled his tail around Neptune gently, and Neptune leaned into him, burying his head in the crook of Sun’s neck.

“She tried to save me, but I couldn’t swim. I reached out, but…”

Neptune sobbed, his whole body shaking, and Sun rubbed circles into his back, whispering in his ear reassuringly.

“It was my semblance,” he said. “I… I pushed her, further away. She… because of me, she…”

They waited for Neptune to collect himself.

“I used to go down to the beach every day,” Neptune whispered. “At first, I wanted her to be alive, but… eventually, I was just hoping her body would wash up to shore, just so I would know…”

“It wasn’t your fault,” said Sage. “It was the storm, the Grimm…”

“You don’t understand,” said Neptune. “My semblance…”

“How do you know!?” Scarlet cried. “It could have been the current, or anything else! Your sister didn’t die because of you!”

“She did!” Neptune’s voice wavered. “My semblance killed her – ”

Sun clenched his fists. “How old were you?” he asked.

“What?”

“How old were you?” he repeated.

A pause. “Six.”

Sun cupped his face, forcing Neptune to look him in the eyes.

“You are _not_ a killer, Neptune,” he said. “Do you really think a six-year-old’s semblance is more powerful than the ocean itself?”

Tears began to fall from Neptune’s eyes. “But…”

Sun pressed their foreheads together, sighing. “You’re an idiot. You know that, right?”

Neptune laughed softly, trembling. “Yeah.”

They were interrupted by Sage pulling both of them into a hug, and Scarlet joining him.

Sun flinched. “Stitches!”

Sage loosened his hold, chuckling. “We’re all idiots,” he said.

“Agreed,” said Scarlet. “Why else would we be called team SSSN?”

“Hey!” Sun cried.

Neptune smiled.

Scarlet patted him on the shoulder. “We’re here for you, Nep. If you ever forget that again, I’ll slap you.”

Neptune nodded. “Duly noted.”

Just then, Roxo burst into the room.

“Sorry for the interruption, boys, but Grimm have attacked Vale,” she said. “We’re leaving in five minutes.”

Stunned silence cut through them, and Sun had only one thought:

 

_My family!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Finally, this part is complete! Don't worry, teams RWBY and JNPR will appear in the next chapter. Thanks for reading this far!


	8. Back to Beacon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the rating's changed, but only because of a couple of innuendoes...

Sun sprinted all the way from the airship to the hotel where his family were staying, stopping only to gawk at the Atlesian warships in the skies and the android legion that patrolled the streets. Evidence of the Grimm infested the entire city, but there was not a single one of the monsters left – flesh of nightmare had been replaced by flesh of metal, and Atlesian soldiers stood on every street and every corner. Normally, Sun would have resented such a harsh display of power, but right now he could only pray that wherever his family were, the soldiers had got there in time…

He arrived breathless and panting, Ruyi and Jingu at the ready. His body was screaming at him, still not recovered, but – his family. It didn’t _seem_ as if the Grimm had attacked the hotel, but his family could have been out and about when the train crash happened –

“Sun!” cried a voice – his sister. “Mum! Dad! Sun’s back!”

He turned, terrified of what he’d see, yet – they were okay.

Everything was okay.

His brothers, Mara and Cuja, were sitting on his Dad’s shoulders, playing with a toy aeroplane. His sister, Yaya, was holding his mother’s hand, but she let go, running up to hug him.

“Yaya!” Sun breathed, grasping her tightly. The faunus was on the verge of sobbing, blinking back tears. He’d been panicking for the entire flight back from Salport, and Sage had had to physically stop him from jumping out of the plane.

“Sun?” Yaya frowned. “You’re kind of squishing me.”

He let go. “Sorry.”

His mother took one look at him, and her smile dropped.

“What happened!?” she cried. “Why are you so beat up!?”

She ran over to him, hugging him and generally fussing until Sun pushed her off him gently.

He waved his hand. “It’s nothing, Mum. The kraken just hit me a bit.”

“Did you hit it back?” Mara cut in.

“Did you smack its head off!?” Cuja interrupted.

Sun laughed. “Hell yeah!”

His Mum shook her head, her eyes narrowing. “You know I don’t like it when you put yourself in danger…”

“Mum, I’m a huntsman! It’s in the job description!”

“But you’re so hot-headed!” she growled, pulling his ear.

“Ow!”

His father snorted. “I wonder where he gets that from…”

They heard the throttle of an engine as a red motorbike hurtled towards them, screeching to a halt in a circle of dust. Sage and Scarlet fell off it, coughing.

“Where the _hell_ did you learn to drive that thing!?” Scarlet cried, his face pale and looking as if he were about to retch.

Neptune took off his googles, blinking. “Yang taught me.” He grinned. “Motorcycles are cool, right?”

“Not when you’re breaking all the speed limits,” Sage muttered, dusting off his coat.

Scarlet straightened his jacket, running a hand through his hair. “Is your family okay?” he asked.

“Oh, we’re fine,” Sun’s mother replied cheerily. “Thankfully, there weren’t any casualties.”

Scarlet relaxed. “That’s good.”

“The huntresses saved us!” Yaya beamed, jumping excitedly. “They were _so cool!”_

Sun’s Dad scratched his head. “What she meant to say was that we caught a glimpse of the students fighting from the roof of the shopping centre.”

Neptune nodded. “Right…”

Sun’s Mum smiled sympathetically. “How was the field trip?”

Sun and Neptune exchanged glances. “It was… eventful.”

She giggled. “I’m sure it was.”

Neptune checked his watch. “I’m afraid we have to check in back at Beacon as soon as possible,” he apologised.

“I’ll come visit you later, okay?” said Sun.

“Yeah!” Cuja grinned.

His Dad waved. “See you later.”

Neptune hopped back on the motorcycle, putting on his goggles. Sun sat behind him, all of a sudden very conscious that he was almost kind of straddling the blue-haired boy. He told his body to stop it before he could blush. Now was _not_ the right time!

“I didn’t know you could drive a motorcycle,” said Sun.

Scarlet snorted. “He can’t.”

“Hey!”

Sage grimaced. “We’ll just walk,” he said. “We can meet you there.”

Sun frowned. “Alright…”

Honestly, Neptune couldn’t be _that_ bad of a driver... Neptune revved the engine and they were off, just as Sun remembered that _Yang_ had taught Neptune how to drive. He paled.

***

Sun staggered off the bike, steadying himself against a tree. The sprint hadn’t helped his injuries, and Neptune was almost as bad, the blue-haired boy apparently taking each traffic light and speed limit they came across as a personal challenge.

Neptune frowned. “You okay?” He hovered nervously. “Your wounds haven’t reopened, have they?”

Sun shook his head. “I’m just… a little out of breath.”

“Ah.”

Sun wheezed. “Seriously, man, how did you get your license like that?”

Neptune froze.

Sun raised his eyebrow.

“Sun! Neptune!” called Ruby, skipping over with Weiss in tow.

Weiss took one look at Sun and said: “I guess your mission went as well as our, huh?”

Neptune frowned. “What do you mean?”

“We were the ones that crashed the train,” Ruby admitted.

He sighed. “Of course.”

Ruby held up her hands. “In our defence, they did end up apprehending Roman Torchwick.”

“Isn’t that the guy that attacked us with that giant robot?” Neptune asked.

Ruby nodded. “Yep!”

Weiss shook her head. “Did you complete your mission?” she asked.

Sun nodded. “Yep. Although it was Roxo that did most of the work,” he replied.

“Roxo?” Ruby frowned. “You mean Professor Azulado? Doesn’t she teach music…?”

Weiss snorted, tossing her hair. “She’s _supposed_ to run the choir, but she never shows up to classes.”

The faunus winced. “Yeah, that sounds like her.”

“How did you get all of those cuts and bruises?” Ruby asked.

“These?” Sun flexed, grinning. “These are battle scars!”

“He got hit by the kraken,” said Neptune.

Weiss frowned, concerned. “What about you, Neptune? And Sage, and Scarlet?”

Neptune scratched the back of his head. “I’m… fine.”

“Scarlet and Sage decided to walk here instead of riding the bike with us,” Sun filled in.

Ruby scratched her head. “But… motorcycles are so cool! Why wouldn’t they want to ride one?”

Sun covered his mouth, whispering: “Yang taught Neptune how to drive.”

Ruby’s eyes widened in understanding.

Weiss sighed. “Someone needs to stop that girl…”

Neptune spotted Sage and Scarlet in the distance, and waved to them. They were accompanied by Nora, who was arm in arm with Scarlet and laughing hysterically. Neptune’s stomach sank. This couldn’t be good…

“Yo, Neptune!” Nora yelled. “I hear your driving’s awesome!”

Neptune flashed her a smile. “Maybe I’ll take you out for a ride, someday.”

She grinned. “Nah, you’re already busy riding Sun.”

Neptune froze, completely lost for words.

Scarlet burst into laughter, and Sage looked almost as embarrassed as Neptune felt.

Ruby frowned. “Did you mean to say he’s busy _taking_ Sun for a ride…” She blinked. “Oh. Oh!” Ruby blushed. “I didn’t know you two were – ”

Weiss grabbed her by the mouth, cutting her off. She laughed nervously. “Um…”

Neptune forced himself to glance at Sun, and…

Sun was just standing there with his brows creased, his tongue poking out of the corner of his mouth. He blinked, then smiled, then laughed.

“You’re so funny, Nora!” Sun grinned, slapping redhead on the back.

Nora winked. “I know, right?”

“Come on, guys,” Sun said, heading off towards the school. “We need to find Roxo, then report back to Professor Goodwitch.”

***

Neptune was lounging on his bed when Sun came out of the shower, the faunus hissing as he peeled off his bandages.

The blue-haired boy sat up anxiously. “Are you sure you should be doing that?”

Sun waved him off. “It’s fine, they said I only had to wear them for a day.”

Sun threw the dirty bandages in the bin and pulled on a shirt, sitting down next to Neptune. Scarlet was out conspiring with Yang and Nora, and Sage was off doing whatever Sage did at this time of night, so they were blissfully alone.

“You doing okay?” Sun asked casually.

Neptune breathed in deeply. “I’m good.” He nodded. “I’m good.”

Sun smiled.

“I think…” Neptune trailed off. “I think keeping it all inside, what happened with my sister… it wasn’t doing me any good.”

Sun snorted, blurting out “No shit” before remembering he was supposed to be supportive. “Sorry.”

“Thank you for being there for me,” Neptune said, turning to face him.

Sun’s face lit up, his eyes sparkling. He snuggled down, curling up on the bed and poking Neptune’s face with his tail playfully.

“Any time, sea god,” he said.

Neptune laughed, grabbing his tail and ruffling the soft fur. “Whatever you say, monkey boy.”

Neptune stretched out on the bed beside him. The electric light made it appear as if Neptune’s hair was rippling water, shades of cerulean and cobalt swirling into each other with mesmerising beauty. It was only when he caught Neptune’s eyes that he realised he’d been staring. Sun turned away, his face burning and his imagination very conscious of the heat of Neptune’s body pressed up next to him.

“When do your lessons with Professor Goodwitch start?” the faunus asked, trying to distract himself from the way Neptune shuffled slightly, trying to get into a more comfortable position. Of course they’d shared a bed plenty of times before, but – this situation was different, not least because flirting really didn’t feel appropriate right now.

“Tomorrow,” Neptune replied. His voice stayed nonchalant, but Sun felt his body tense a little. He squeezed his tail, and Neptune squeezed back.

“You’ll do fine,” Sun said. “Just keep it cool, okay? Relax.”

Neptune nodded, biting his lip. “Mm.”

Roxo had had to report what had happened with Neptune’s semblance to Ozpin, and Neptune had been sweating and apologising before the headmaster could even speak. When Ozpin finally interrupted him, they’d decided that Goodwitch would instruct Neptune in controlling his semblance, and if Neptune didn’t gain her approval in time for the Vytal Festival, he wouldn’t be able to participate. It was frustrating, yes, but Sun knew very well that if Neptune lost control and accidentally struck one of the other students, things could end up very badly.

Just then, the door to their room burst open, and a very drunk-looking Scarlet stumbled in, supported by a slightly less drunk Yang and Nora. Scarlet took one look at them and burped.

“Riding,” he giggled, miming a pair of handlebars with his hands. “Vroom, vroom!”

He stumbled over to the other side of the room, knocking his head on the post as he collapsed onto a bed, passing out.

They all blinked.

“He’ll be fine!” Nora laughed nervously. “Right?”

Yang pulled her back out of the room. “Well,” the blonde sang awkwardly. “Have a good night!”

The door slammed behind them, and Sun heard Nora wail something about Ren and pancakes before Yang shushed her and the pair of them headed back to their dorms, bumping into a couple of things along the way.

Sun met Neptune’s eyes and Neptune shrugged. The blue-haired boy rolled over, pulling the covers over him.

“Well,” Neptune said, switching off the light. “Good night.”

Sun smirked, poking him in the ribs. “So you’re going to sleep in my bed, huh? You’ve taken my tail hostage, too, how kinky.”

Neptune snorted. “Actually, this is _my_ bed,” he turned to face Sun again, “and here’s your tail.”

Neptune let go, and Sun pouted. “But Scarlet’s in my bed, and he reeks of alcohol…”

The blue-haired boy grinned, lifting the covers. “I suppose there’s no helping it, then. If the team leader says so, I have no choice.”

Sun slipped in, his tail curling around himself, and Neptune grabbed onto the tip, wrapping it around his hand. Sun was pretty sure there were _actual_ butterflies in his stomach, and since when had Neptune smelled so… so _hot?_ Was it deodorant? Aftershave? Cologne? Could it just be his scent?

He could flirt with Neptune a bit more, right? It made the blue-haired boy laugh, and Neptune needed something to lift his spirits.

“The team leader says you have to kiss me good night,” said Sun mischievously.

Neptune paused, considering this. Before Sun could be surprised, Neptune pressed his lips to Sun’s forehead chastely, pulling back quickly.

“Goodnight,” he said, a delicious blush spreading across his cheeks.

Sun’s mouth parted slightly, and he grinned slowly.

“The team leader says you have to suck me off,” he said.

Neptune elbowed him in the ribs, hard.

Sun winced. “Too far?”

Neptune nodded. “Too far.”

The faunus shuffled into a more comfortable position. He bent down to kiss Neptune on the crown of his head, whispering “Goodnight” in his ear. Neptune smiled, closing his eyes and leaning in to Sun’s chest. After a moment’s hesitation, Sun wrapped an arm around Neptune and pressed their foreheads together, closing his eyes too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you think? Hopefully, that draws this bit of the fic to a conclusion, and we're ready to move onto the next part. I don't think it will be as serious as the field trip, but who knows? Maybe stuff will just... happen.


	9. Normalcy, ish

When Neptune woke up, he felt… weird. Half of his body was hot, and the other half was cool. He was lying on his front, his face buried in the pillow, and something warm and heavy was pinning him down – Sun. During the night, the faunus had somehow managed to steal the covers, cocooning himself quite nicely, but leaving Neptune’s legs uncovered and poking over the side of the bed. Sun’s tail had him by the waist, and the faunus was holding his torso hostage, with no intention of letting go. Sun’s breath tickled the back of his neck and Neptune was quite content to stay like this, except –

He swore when he saw the clock.

“Sun!” he hissed, struggling. “Sun, I need to get up!”

The other man mumbled something in his sleep, tightening his grip.

“Sun!” Neptune cried, shuffling and wriggling. Unfortunately, Sun was significantly stronger than him.

“Sun!” Neptune yelled, elbowing him in the stomach and somehow managing to flip them so that Neptune was on top of Sun, yet still held prisoner.

“Shut up!” Scarlet moaned, very hungover.

“You shut up!” Neptune said, trying to pry the faunus’ arms off him. He glanced at the clock again, and decided that there was no time for finesse. Neptune rolled, and the two of them fell off the bed, Neptune making sure to use Sun as a cushion.

Sun gasped awake, spluttering.

“Man, what the hell!?” he cried, coughing.

Neptune ignored him, dashing to dress himself. “My class with Goodwitch starts in fifteen minutes!”

Sun blinked groggily, yawning. “That’s loads of time…”

“I haven’t eaten!”

Sun blinked. “But…”

Scarlet threw a shoe at Sun and it struck him in the forehead.

“Hey!”

“Some of us are trying to sleep!” the redhead complained.

Neptune snorted, pulling on his goggles. “It’s your own fault.”

Scarlet muttered something darkly. “Sage would at least be considerate.”

“Sage is a mother hen and we are all his chicks,” said Sun, just as Sage walked in to the room carrying a takeaway box.

“I got you breakfast,” he said, handing it to Neptune. “You looked as if you were going to be late, otherwise.”

Sun gestured. “See? My point exactly.”

Sage frowned at the faunus. “Did you fall out of bed?”

Sun glared at Neptune. “Apparently so.”

Neptune waved him off. “You love me, really.”

Sun blinked, looking shocked, then slightly offended. “That’s… that’s _my_ line!”

Neptune smirked and Scarlet groaned, hiding under a pillow.

“For Dust’s sake, get a room!”

“We are in a room,” Neptune replied, eating the food Sage had brought him.

“Are you doing okay?” Sage asked, sitting down next to him.

Neptune shrugged. “I’m a little bit nervous,” he admitted in between mouthfuls. “If I can’t do this, then we’re out of the tournament.”

“Relax,” said Sage. “We’d much rather not fight than have you accidentally drown the opposition.”

“Yeah,” Scarlet said, sitting upright. “Seriously, you need to learn how to control your semblance before it devours you.”

“Is it difficult?” the blue-haired boy asked.

Sun shrugged. “I don’t think any of our semblances are as powerful as yours.”

Scarlet snorted. “I had to spend my first term at Haven literally tied down.”

“Oh yeah.” Neptune smiled weakly.

Scarlet’s semblance gave him the ability of flight, although it seriously depleted his aura. During their first couple of weeks at Haven, whilst Scarlet had still been learning to control it, the redhead had been prone to floating in the middle of class, quite by accident. His lack of control over his semblance had been a source of constant amusement, as long he’d been under a roof when he started to rise…

“What if…” Neptune breathed in slowly, looking down. “What if I can’t control it?”

He looked up, and there were shadows of doubt dancing in his eyes, his expression troubled.

Wordlessly, Sun stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“You can do this, Neptune,” he said. “I…” Sun met Sage and Scarlet’s eyes. “We believe in you.”

Neptune closed his eyes, nodding.

***

Blake yawned, basking in the silence of an empty dorm. None of her teammates were around, so she was about to take this opportunity to indulge herself in some unorthodox literature when Sun tapped on the window, grinning.

“Good morning!” he said, hanging by his tail from the tree outside. “Can I come in?”

Blake put her book to one side, sighing. She let him in and the faunus sat down on an empty bed, his hands in his lap.

Blake raised her eyebrow. “Well?”

Sun sighed. “Okay, what do I do about Neptune? Because I know I like him, and I know he maybe might like me, but I’m not sure, and he’s been through a lot lately and I don’t want to ruin things but I really, _really – ”_

“Sun,” she interrupted.

He looked down sheepishly. “Sorry.”

She shook her head wryly. “What happened during the field trip?”

He snorted. “We didn’t crash any trains, that’s for sure.”

Blake was not impressed. “Do you want my help or not?”

“Okay, fine.” He hesitated, unsure of what to say. “Basically… I said ‘you know you love me, really’ and he said ‘yeah’, but the next day something serious happened that I think brought us closer together, but it’s sensitive and private so I can’t tell you.”

Blake scratched her head, frowning. “So… you confessed to him?”

“No,” said Sun.

“Then… how do you know he maybe likes you?”

“We slept together yesterday, and – ”

“Wait, _what!?”_

“No no, not sex,” Sun said hurriedly, blushing furiously. “Just… sleep.”

Blake eyed him warily. “Right…”

“Anyway, I was joking around and told him to kiss me, except he actually did. On the forehead.”

Blake put her head in her hands exasperatedly. “You two are _so_ oblivious,” she muttered.

“What?”

“Nothing,” she dismissed, straightening. “What do you want me to do about it?”

Sun paused, scratching his head with his tail. “I… I don’t actually know. You were the one who said you’d be my wingwoman…”

“Yeah, well in case you hadn’t noticed, I’m not very good at it,” Blake snorted. “I did read some books…”

“I don’t want any advice from the sorts of books _you_ read,” Sun interrupted.

“What do you mean?” Blake cried defensively.

He gestured to the book on her bed. She shuffled in front of it, blushing.

Blake coughed. “What I was going to suggest was why don’t you just… ask him out?”

Sun blinked. “I have. Many times. He thought I was joking.”

“Did you tell him you weren’t?”

“I…” Sun trailed off. “I didn’t want to ruin our friendship,” he mumbled.

Blake smiled gently. “Trust me, Sun,” she said. “Ask Neptune out.”

The faunus opened his mouth to say something, but stopped. He swallowed. “I…” Sun stood up. “You’re right. I…” He seemed unsure, but then his eyes narrowed and he nodded to himself, clenching his fist. “I will ask him out.”

Blake breathed a sigh of relief.

“Thanks!” Sun said, climbing out of the window.

She waved at the empty room. “You’re welcome…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, all! I have the next chapter written already, so hopefully that should get posted in the next couple of days...


	10. The First Step

Professor Glynda Goodwitch’s office was exactly what Neptune had expected it to be. Every inch of the room spoke of perfection, from the spotless cabinets to the carefully organised desk, everything filed away and labelled. One of the cabinets held carefully sorted vials of dust, meticulously arranged by colour, and on the far wall hung an oil painting of several faeries dancing above a moonlit lake. The painting was quite cute, actually, especially considering how frosty Goodwitch could be.

The Professor in question was perched behind her desk, studying him with her jade eyes. Her blonde hair curled elegantly over one shoulder, and her mouth was pursed, not angrily, just… thoughtfully.

The borderline obsessive neatness of the office was broken only by Roxo Azulado lounging in the chair next to Neptune, inspecting her nails. Neptune had been surprised to see the huntress there as well, but apparently, Roxo was just as invested in him learning to control his semblance as he was.

They’d exchanged the usual pleasantries when Neptune had arrived, but neither Roxo nor Goodwitch had said a word since. Just as Neptune was beginning to get uncomfortable, Goodwitch spoke up:

“Tell me, Mr Vasilias, what is aura?”

Neptune frowned. “The manifestation of one’s soul.”

Goodwitch nodded. “And what is a semblance?”

“The physical manifestation of aura…” He hesitated. Was it a trick question?

“Are illusions physical?” Goodwitch prompted. “How about misfortune? Would you consider that tangible?”

“No,” said Neptune. “I suppose a semblance doesn’t necessarily have to be physical.”

Goodwitch sat up. “What about your semblance? Would you consider it physical, or not?”

Neptune frowned. “Physical.”

“Yes and no,” Goodwitch replied. “Not all semblances are physical, but all of them have a metaphysical factor.”

Neptune shook his head. “I’m afraid I don’t follow.”

“At Salport, your semblance created a tidal wave,” she explained. “Did you do it consciously?”

“No.”

“Exactly,” Goodwitch said. “Your semblance was controlling you, Mr Vasilias, not the other way around.” She stood up, moving to a drinks cabinet in the corner. “Semblances are aspects of our auras, and auras are aspects of our souls. In other words, a semblance is directly linked to one’s emotions, and in some cases could even be said to _be_ emotion.”

She set down a jug of water and three glasses on the desk in front of him.

“Emotions are fluid and unpredictable, just like water,” Goodwitch said. “Individuals with similar semblances to yours often experience rain when they’re depressed, or a cloud-free sky when they’re happy.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Neptune interrupted. “A semblance can’t be powerful enough to affect the _weather,_ not on the scale you’re describing.”

“But you did,” Roxo said, speaking up. “Back at Salport, you did exactly that. You’re friends with Weiss Schnee, right? What of her glyphs?”

Neptune frowned. “It’s well-known that hereditary semblances are more powerful than ordinary ones, but my semblance isn’t hereditary. Neither of my parents…”

“Your Dad’s a business magnate, and you’re Mum’s a fashion designer,” Roxo replied. “I find it difficult to believe that either of them have had enough training to unlock their auras.”

“Besides, it is quite possible that hereditary semblances remain dormant for generations,” Goodwitch said. “Regardless of whether your power is a family heirloom or not, there is water everywhere.” She leaned forwards, looking at him dead in the eyes. “Your semblance is unbelievably dangerous. The point I am trying to make is that if you let your emotions control you, you are letting your semblance control you, as well.”

Neptune was about to protest, but then fell silent. She was right, after all. Up to sixty percent of the human body was water, which meant that he could quite easily kill someone without meaning to. As for whether his semblance was hereditary or not, well, did it matter? His parents didn’t know he could control water, and… he wasn’t keen on telling them any time soon…

“I understand.”

Goodwitch nodded. “Good. However, I am not a therapist. I understand that you’ve had your fair share of tragedy, and would like you to know that there are plenty of mental health services available to our students should you so need them.”

He swallowed. “Thanks.”

Goodwitch eyed him critically for a couple of moments, but luckily, the professor seemed satisfied with what she saw.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Neptune spoke up, “what exactly _is_ your semblance, Professor?”

Roxo snorted, and Goodwitch smiled. “Telekinesis, Neptune,” she said, gesturing.

The jug of water lifted itself up off the table, pouring water into each of the three glasses and then setting itself down again.

“And please, call me Glynda,” she continued. “We’re going to be spending a lot of time together in the next couple of weeks, and if you insist on calling me by my title I’ll begin to feel old.”

Neptune grinned.

***

Sun walked down the streets of Vale, his hands in his pockets and his shoulders slouched lazily. He’d promised Blake he’d ask Neptune out, only now that he’d had time to think about it, he wasn’t so sure. What if he said no? More importantly, what if he said yes? Sun was not romantic. Flirty, yes, and he was pretty confident in his ability to turn anything into an innuendo, but romantic? Definitely not. Neptune was the type of person who’d appreciate a candlelit dinner, but Sun couldn’t cook, and he’d probably burn the dorm down while trying. Even if things did go their way, what would happen to their team dynamic? Was he thinking too much about this? Probably.

He found himself wandering downtown, to where his family were. Unlike some families, the Wukongs had always been close, and his parents were the first people Sun would turn to, except for maybe his teammates. Living across the ocean in Mistral, Sun missed his family more than he cared to admit.

When he stepped into the hotel, he found his siblings playing video games in the lobby.

“Sun!” the twins screamed, dropping what they were doing and running at him. Sun readied himself and spread his arms just as they tackled him, somehow still managing to knock the breath from his lungs.

“Hey, fellas!” He grinned as his brothers clambered all over him, pulling at his hair and necklace.

“Are you feeling better, today?” Yaya asked.

Sun nodded. “Yeah, lots.”

“Do you like my new skirt?” His sister twirled, displaying the pink cherry blossoms printed on the colourful fabric.

“I love it!” Sun said, just as one of his brothers pulled at his ear, making him wince.

“Why do you smell of Neptune?” Mara asked, sniffing.

“Yeah, where’s Neptune?” Cuja echoed.

“He’s having some special lessons this morning,” Sun replied, suddenly very aware that he hadn’t showered that morning. If his brothers could smell Neptune’s scent on him, then his parents would be able to, too.

“What kind of lessons?” Yaya asked, curious. “Are they secret?”

He shook his head. “Neptune has to learn to control his semblance.”

“Then is he going to learn how to swim?” she asked.

Sun frowned. “Maybe. Who told you he can’t swim?”

“Scarlet.”

“Oh. Why did he tell you that?”

Yaya shrugged. “I suggested inviting all of your friends to the swimming pool one day, but Scarlet said Neptune wouldn’t like it.”

Sun sighed. “Yeah. Probably…”

“Do you want to come and play video games with us?” Mara asked. “Cuja’s losing.”

“Only because you’re cheating!” Cuja cried, hitting his brother.

“Am not!”

Smack.

“Are too!”

Smack.

Sun held his brothers apart, eyeing them sternly.

“I need to speak with Mum and Dad first,” he told them. “No one’s allowed to cheat until I get back, okay?”

The twins nodded. “Okay!”

As soon as he turned his back they started bickering again, and Sun smiled exasperatedly. The twins were definitely a handful, that was certain. With every step he climbed, his heart sank in his chest, even though he knew there was no reason to be so worried. He knocked on the door to his family’s room, and his Mum opened it, blinking.

“Sun!” she said, grinning. “What brings you here?”

He shrugged. “Nothing much,” he lied.

His father was reading the newspaper when he walked in, and he waved to him. Sun sat across from him, and his Mum went back to inspecting the souvenirs she’d bought.

The faunus breathed in deeply, sighing. This was as good a time as any, he supposed.

“What would you think if I were to ask out Neptune?” Sun asked, his tone casual despite the raging of his heart.

His mother stopped, and his father set down his newspaper slowly, turning to face him.

“Where’s this coming from?” his Dad asked, his brows creasing.

Sun snorted. “Guess.”

His mother sighed. “There’s no need to be so defensive, Sun,” she said, sitting down next to him. “You can’t blame us for being surprised, though.”

“Well, not _surprised_ , per say,” his father interrupted, scratching his head. “More like… we didn’t expect you to tell us until _after_ you’d actually started dating.”

Sun frowned, confused. “Wait, so… you knew I’m love with Neptune?”

“Oh, honey…” His Mum smiled softly, squeezing his hand.

“We’ve suspected for a while,” his father admitted. “Especially when you come here with his scent clinging all over you.”

Sun blushed. “We didn’t…”

His father chuckled, and his mother smiled wryly.

Sun stammered: “Y-You’re not… angry?”

His Mum seemed offended. “Why would we be angry? Do you really think so little of us?”

“No, but…” Sun trailed off.

His Dad sighed. “It’s not what we would have wanted for you, Sun,” he said, holding up his hand before Sun could protest. “You’ve got to understand, people have enough of a reason to hate you because you’re a faunus, and being gay on top of it…”

Sun nodded slowly. He remembered all too well the number of humans that had turned their noses at him in the streets, and the number of times he’d been refused service because of his tail…

“But Sun, what I’m going to tell you now is very important.” His father leaned in, looking him directly in the eye. “Just as you should be proud of what you are, be proud of who you love, too. I know you, and I know Neptune, and I know that there’s no one else I’d rather see my son with.”

Sun sniffed, blinking back tears. “Thanks, Dad.”

His mother hugged him, stroking his hair. “You can tell us anything, Sun. You know that, right? You don’t ever have to be afraid of what we’ll think or say.”

“I know.”

His Dad smiled. “When were you planning on asking Neptune out?”

Sun shrugged. “Today, maybe? I don’t know.”

“Well, tell us how it goes!”

Sun frowned, doubt still clawing at his heart. “But what if he rejects me?”

His parents made eye contact, and his father said: “Trust me, Sun, he won’t.”

***

Neptune jabbed at him, but Sun dodged, swinging a punch of his own.

“…I mean, it’ll take time, obviously,” Neptune was saying. “I think I can do it, though.” He nodded confidently.

Sun lashed out with a roundhouse kick, grinning. “I told you you’d be fine,” he said, leaping out of the range of Neptune’s counterattack.

They’d been sparring for a while, now, and both of them were slick with sweat. Neptune’s cheeks were flushed and he’d taken off his jacket, exposing his bare arms. Sun counted himself lucky the blue-haired boy’s shirt was white, because with all of the sweat it was turning transparent, and the faunus more than appreciated the tanned, toned body underneath. Sun had also caught Neptune glancing down at his exposed torso on more than one occasion, which was giving him confidence.

“It’s going to take a lot of practice to master it, thought,” Neptune continued, pulling a face. “It’ll be fun, but hopefully it won’t get boring.”

“Sounds like you could use a change of pace.” Sun winked, switching legs and going for another roundhouse followed by a wheel-kick, which Neptune caught. The blue-haired boy swept his leg as Sun struggled, knocking him onto the floor.

They both laughed.

Neptune offered him a hand, helping him up.

“I guess we could both use a change of pace,” he replied, smiling.

Sun swallowed, seizing the opportunity. “Then go out with me.”

Neptune smirked. “You wish.”

Sun grabbed Neptune by the sleeve, looking him in the eyes. “I’m serious, Neptune. Go out with me.”

Neptune blinked, his brain taking a moment to process what was happening, and then he blushed, taking a step back.

“What, like on a date?” he stammered, his cheeks going from red to full-on crimson.

“Yeah!” Sun grinned. “A date!”

“B-but…” Neptune spluttered. _“Why!?”_

“Because I like you, you nerd!” Sun cried, exasperated.

“Intellectual,” Neptune corrected, trying to stop himself from smiling even as his face broke into a helpless grin.

Sun breathed, his heart pounding from both the exercise and his nerves. “So is that a yes?”

Neptune swallowed dryly, wringing his hands. “Yes,” he mumbled quietly, then said it a bit louder: “Yeah.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So how was that? I'm not sure if the first bit with Neptune and Glyda is just waffle or not, and I'd love to hear feedback on the rest of it! Thanks for reading this far!


	11. After Asking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so it was my birthday recently, and I got distracted by a new laptop. Sorry! I decided to split this chapter into two, so this one's a bit short, but with luck I should have the next chapter out in a couple of days.

It was early evening, and Weiss was on the verge of having a mental breakdown – studying with Ruby did that.

“Why do I have to find x?” Ruby asked.

“Because the question says so,” Weiss replied.

“But in real life, apart from the exam when would I ever have to find x?”

“You built your own weapon, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, but that was _applied_ maths – ”

“It doesn’t – ”

They were interrupted by Sun flinging the door open, breathless. His cheeks were ruddy and he was grinning idiotically, still a bit sweaty from sparring, yet his tail was all puffed up in a ridiculously happy manner. Ruby welcomed the distraction. Weiss was irritated by it. Blake was likewise annoyed, once again torn away from her reading. Yang was surprised, too, going so far as to pause her video game.

Sun saw that they were all watching him, and blinked.

_“Blake, Blake, I asked Neptune out and he said yes!”_ he blurted without thinking. His brain caught up with what he’d said, and he just kind of… froze. Team RWBY froze, too.

Silence.

“Oh my Dust, _finally!”_ Yang cried. “Now all you have to do is fuck to get rid of the sexual tension and I can die in peace.”

Sun frowned. “What?”

“Ignore her!” Ruby cut in, stepping in front of her sister. “She’s… frustrated.”

A thought struck Sun and they watched as his face fell from giddy to panicking.

“But what do I _do?_ Where do I take him? What do I wear? What do I _say –_ ”

“Sun, calm down!” Blake interrupted. “You’ve already done the hardest part, which is actually asking him out.”

“I know, but… just…”

Weiss folded her arms, raising her eyebrow. “Please tell me you didn’t ask him out, panic, and then rush here without saying another word to him?”

“No, of course not!” Sun paused. “We both kind of… parted ways.”

Weiss sighed, groaning inwardly. Poor Neptune, falling for such a clueless _idiot…_

“Okay, the first thing you need to do is to calm down,” Weiss said, taking matters into her own hands.

Sun nodded, taking a couple of deep breaths. He frowned. “Wait, you’re okay with this? I thought…”

“Oh for Dust’s sake!” Weiss cried. “I do not like Neptune! Is that clear enough for you?”

Sun gulped. “Crystal.”

“Good.” Weiss snorted, tossing her hair.

Blake sniffed. “Why don’t you go and have a shower, and then come and talk to us when we’re all more relaxed?” she suggested.

Sun nodded in agreement, leaving.

Yang grinned, stretching. “Guess who just won fifty lien from Scarlet and Nora?”

***

Sun sent off the text to his parents, then considered telling everyone else he knew, but decided against it. They hadn’t even gone out, yet, and he didn’t want to jinx their relationship before it could flourish.

“Is this actually happening, though?” Neptune asked.

“Yes,” Sun replied, deciding he could at least text his friends back at Haven.

“But actually, though? You’re not joking, right?”

Sun put his scroll down, giving Neptune one of his unimpressed looks. “I panicked for like, a day, about asking you out, so you don’t get to panic _after_ you’ve said yes.”

Neptune blushed, mumbling something inaudible. He was doing this a lot, lately.

“Wait, what do you mean a day?”

Sun waved his hand. “It doesn’t matter.”

The blue-haired boy sighed. “This was completely spontaneous, wasn’t it?”

“Not completely…”

“Where are you taking me, anyway?” Neptune asked curiously. “Do I have to wear something fancy?”

Sun frowned. “I don’t think so. It’s a restaurant Blake recommended to me.”

Neptune paused. “She did, did she?”

Sun looked at him. “Dude, you do know she was the one that told me to ask you out in the first place, right?”

He blinked. “She was?”

“Yeah.”

Just then, Scarlet and Nora burst into the room.

“Aha!” Nora cried. “Caught in the act!”

Scarlet looked on the verge of tears. “I can’t believe you actually did it, Sun! I’ve been waiting for this for two years…”

“How come no one’s at least a little bit surprised?” Neptune frowned.

“Dude, if rainbows are here on a scale of gayness,” Nora said, gesturing with one hand, “you two are way up here.”

Sun elbowed Neptune playfully. “We beat the rainbow, Nep!”

Neptune rolled his eyes.

“I hear Blake’s organising your date for you,” Nora continued.

“Well…”

“It’s annoying, because she won’t tell us where you’re going,” said Scarlet. “Apparently, she’s afraid we might ‘stalk you’.”

“That’s the most sensible decision anyone has ever made,” said Neptune. Sun nodded in quiet agreement.

“Whatever,” said Scarlet, smiling. “I’m happy for you two.”

“Yeah,” said Nora. “Whenever I ask Ren out, he thinks I’m joking.”

“Have you told him you’re not?” Sun replied, echoing Blake’s words.

Nora broke into nervous laughter, dodging the question. “What funny things you say, Sun!”

Sun scratched his head. “I try my best...”


	12. Getting Ready

The window was slightly open, the pale curtains fluttering in the morning breeze. The breeze brought with it the scent of grass and the faint smell of brine, and gentle rays stained the dorm a lazy yellow. Sun was hiding underneath his pillow, still annoyed that Neptune had had to leave early because of his lesson with Glynda. He was about to wake up when his brain registered _he had a date today._

_Shit._

Keep it cool, keep it cool. He was cool. He could do this. Blake had texted him the details, he’d planned their route their down to the last second, and he’d even gone to the effort of memorising the menu. Mostly memorising the menu. Everything was going to be –

“So what are you going to wear?” asked Scarlet, brushing his teeth.

Sun blinked. “What?”

“What are you going to wear?” he repeated. “To the date?”

Sun frowned, a sinking feeling in his gut. “This…?”

Scarlet just stared at him incredulously, taking in his bedridden hair, rumpled clothes, unbuttoned shirt and his general un-showered state.

He put a hand on his hip. “Okay, first thing first, shower,” Scarlet ordered, pointing. “Obviously, this is going to take more effort than previously anticipated.”

Sun’s mouth dropped open, about to protest, but then he closed it in acknowledgement of Scarlet’s superior fashion sense. Sun did as he was told, washing himself almost obsessively. Was it thanks to his faunus senses that he smelled of sweat? Or did he _actually_ smell of sweat? Would Neptune mind if he smelled of sweat? What if he wore cologne? How much cologne was too much? Sun gave up with cologne when his hands slipped and he nearly dropped the bottle, and walked out of the bathroom with nothing but a towel around his waist.

Apparently, Scarlet had invited all of team JNPR into their dorm. Luckily, Sun wasn’t body shy.

“What did I miss?” the faunus asked.

“We’re going to help you get ready!” Nora sang, putting an arm around his shoulder conspiratorially.

“Did you dry your hair?” Ren asked. “It’s very important you dry your hair, otherwise you could catch a cold.”

“Oh my Dust, it’s another Sage,” said Sun.

Ren sniffed him. “At least you washed yourself properly,” he said, inspecting his back. “Do you comb your tail?”

Sun flinched away from Ren and Nora’s touches, glancing at Scarlet for help. Scarlet was currently raiding his wardrobe, flinging all of his clothes onto the floor.

“Sun, don’t you have _anything_ remotely smart?” he cried, exasperated.

Pyrrha picked up a shirt Scarlet had discarded, dusting it off. “This one’s not too bad,” she commented. “I think it’d be a nice contrast against your hair.” The shirt was in fact the same one he’d worn to the Beacon Dance so long ago, a deep, silky black.

“What if we give him an undercut?” Nora was saying.

“No,” said Ren.

“Oh! How about an afro?”

“Nora, you are _not_ cutting his hair.”

“But – ”

“Everyone, be quiet!” Jaune shouted. They all stopped, startled by the blond’s outburst. Jaune was breathing heavily, exasperated.

“Right,” Jaune said. “Sun, Neptune’s your best friend. I’m sure he’s used to your dress sense by now; if you put in too much effort it will probably make him uncomfortable.”

Sun nodded, relaxing. “Okay.”

“However,” Jaune continued, “if you don’t put in at least a little effort, Neptune might think you’re not taking him seriously.”

Sun’s smile dropped.

“Pyrrha, can you hold up that shirt again, please?”

Pyrrha did so, smiling reassuringly at Sun.

Jaune inspected the shirt, nodding to himself. “Yes, that’ll do nicely. We can leave out the tie, though.”

Sun didn’t bother telling anyone that he’d been planning on wearing that shirt, anyway. Neptune had picked it out especially for him, and as a consequence it had become one of his most prized possessions.

“What time’s your date?” Jaune asked.

“One,” Sun replied – in just under three hours.

“Good,” Jaune mused. “That gives us plenty of time.” He pulled out a chair. “Sit down. I’ll do your hair for you.”

Sun frowned suspiciously. “You can style hair?”

“Oh yeah, he’s brilliant at it!” Pyrrha grinned. “I’m hopeless with hair, so Jaune does mine most days. His fingers are so gentle…” She trailed off, blushing. Sun said nothing, filing away that information for later use.

The faunus sat down in front of the mirror, and Jaune got out a comb and pair of scissors, along with a spray bottle.

Sun raised his eyebrow. “You’re well prepared…”

Jaune shuffled awkwardly. “I have seven sisters, so I do this type of thing a lot.”

He heard a crash from behind him, and Scarlet swearing. Sun turned to look, but Jaune blocked his view.

“Hey!” Jaune said. “No moving.”

“Sorry,” Sun apologised sheepishly. Jaune sprayed his hair with water and started combing it, and what would you know? Pyrrha was right – his fingers _were_ soft.

***

Neptune gestured with his hand, and a bubble of water rose from the bowl, about the size of his fist. It floated through the air and Neptune willed it to go higher and higher, shaping it into a perfect sphere. Ever so slowly, Neptune clenched his fist, bringing the water molecules closer together, slowing them down. The first hints of frost began to form around the outside of the bubble, but then Neptune lost control and the bubble exploded, splashing down onto the table.

Glynda sighed. “You’re not focussing enough,” she said, pushing her glasses up her nose. “Is it me, or are you more distracted than usual today?”

Neptune shuffled, embarrassed. “Yeah…”

“Want to tell us why?” Roxo asked.

Neptune hesitated. “I have… a date…”

Roxo smirked. “Sun finally asked you out, huh?”

Neptune looked up. “How did you…” he trailed off. Apparently, everyone knew Sun had a crush on him – everyone except himself. Neptune had spent most of yesterday and this morning cursing his obliviousness, and he was still high off his elation.

Sun liked him.

_Sun liked him!_

 

Glynda shook her head wryly. “I can see we’re not going to make any progress today, then,” she said.

“No, no, I can – ”

Glynda held up her hand, silencing him. “I’m not old enough that I don’t remember what young love feels like.” She smiled. “You can have the rest of today off.”

Neptune grinned. As it was a Saturday, his lesson with Glynda was the only one he had.

“Thank you so much!”

He got up to leave a little too excitedly, and Glynda coughed. Neptune looked back, and saw that steam was rising off the bowl, the water boiling. He blinked, and the water settled.

“Perhaps this date will help you in more ways than you expect,” Glynda mused, and Neptune nodded in agreement. He’d managed to freeze water before, but never boil it…

***

“Is it normal to be this nervous?” Neptune asked, wringing his hands.

“Of course,” Weiss replied. “It’s your first date, after all.”

“But…” Neptune gulped. His hand went to his neck, his fingers itching to adjust a tie, but he’d opted for a more casual, laid-back look that meant undoing his top buttons, and no tie for him to fiddle with. The fabric of his shirt felt heavy against his back, and a bead of sweat trickle down his spine.

“I’m really, _really_ nervous.”

“You’ll be fine,” said Sage, patting him on the shoulder. “I’ve known you both for three years, and you have absolutely nothing to worry about.”

Neptune pulled a face. “I hope you’re right.”

Weiss sighed. “Neptune, why can’t you just let yourself be happy?”

Neptune stopped, breathing in. His stilled his emotions before they could build, before they could overflow. “What if something goes wrong?” he asked. “What if… something bad happens?”

Sage’s eyes softened sadly. “It’s going to be okay, Nep,” he said. “You deserve to be happy.”

“Dwelling on what-ifs will only drive you to despair.” Weiss shook her head. “If the world ended tomorrow, would you regret not going out with him?”

“Yes,” said Neptune immediately, clenching his fists. They were right, both of them. There was nothing to panic about – it was Sun. That was enough.

They continued walking, and as if from a dream, Sun was there, waiting for him under a tree in the courtyard. Dappled sunlight bled through the leaves, bathing him in a sunny jade. His posture was relaxed – suave – and he was wearing jeans and that black dress shirt Neptune had picked out for him so long ago, the first two buttons open to reveal the silky skin of his collar.

Sage and Weiss stopped, and both of them pushed him forwards. Neptune was in somewhat of a stupor, completely captivated. Sun caught sight of him and grinned, and that smile melted away any of his doubts or reservations. Sun ran up to him, then remembered himself and slowed down to a brisk walk, his tail wagging all over the place. Sun looked as if he was about to hug him, but then stopped, unsure of the boundaries of their new relationship, or whatever they had. His hair had been cut and styled with just a tad of gel, almost shining in the light of the sun. Neptune could also smell the delicious scent of cologne, mixed together with Sun’s own scent, and he just –

“You look…” Neptune swallowed. “Great!”

Sun smirked. “You look sexy as hell, too,” he said, offering his arm. “Shall we go?”

Neptune took Sun’s arm gladly, and was suddenly reminded of how _new_ the situation was. Usually, other people hung on to his arm, not the other way round.

The walked along in amicable silence, and luckily, there weren’t that many people around to stare at them.

“Did you know Pyrrha likes Jaune?” Sun said, and they were off, words easily falling to the tip of Neptune’s tongue.

While Neptune was distracted by the conversation, Sun’s arm slipped lower, and all of a sudden Neptune’s hand fell into Sun’s. Neptune blinked in surprise, and Sun turned away, blushing furiously.

“Is this alright?” the faunus asked bashfully.

Neptune squeezed Sun’s hand, and the faunus’ tail bristled in surprise.

“Of course it is,” Neptune said, smiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you think? Comments and kudos are greatly appreciated!


	13. The Date

Whether on purpose or not, Sun had managed to distract Neptune so that he only noticed that they were on the pier when they stopped outside the restaurant. The ‘Sea of Vale’ was made from what looked to be the hull of an old ship, the silvery wood weathered by storms and encrusted with barnacles. From what Neptune could see, the roof of the restaurant was glass, and the location allowed for a sweeping view of the bay, and the open ocean beyond. Through the windows Neptune could make out a classy interior lit by candlelight, and Neptune had to pause for a moment.

“Nep?” Sun asked, worried. “Are you alright?” He bit his lip. “I know we’re by the sea, but I thought that you might be more used to – ”

“It’s perfect, Sun,” Neptune interrupted, smiling. “Just… are you sure you should be spending this much on me?”

The faunus grinned. “It’s fine; Blake knows the manager! Plus, we get student discount.”

“Oh, of course.”

Neptune wasn’t at all surprised that Blake had connections to the ‘Sea of Vale’ – it sold seafood, after all. They entered, and were hit by amber mood lighting that created the illusion of twilight even though it was a little after noon. Sun gave his name, however, and they were led to a private table by the window, looking out across the rippling ocean. Neptune swallowed dryly, but – he was here with Sun. No, it was more than that. The waves rolled and swelled and – they were beautiful. The ocean was no longer the beast that plagued his nightmares; it was _his_. Water was _his_ , and he had no reason to fear it, especially not with Sun by his side.

Sun pulled out a chair, motioning for him to sit with a sweeping gesture.

Neptune smirked. “How gentlemanly of you.”

“But of course.” Sun grinned. “Anything for my prince.”

“Oh my Dust,” Neptune groaned, pulling the chair in. “Please _never_ say that again.”

“You love it when I’m cringy,” Sun teased.

“Since when?”

“Since I called you a sea god.”

“Whatever you say, boy.”

Sun pouted. “Hey, at least I haven’t made any wet jokes yet.”

Neptune blushed.

A waiter brought them their menus, and Neptune’s eyebrows raised when he looked at the prices.

“How much is the student discount, again?”

***

Sun sighed contently, patting his stomach. “I think I’m beginning to understand why Blake loves fish so much.”

“Agreed,” said Neptune, wiping his mouth with the corner of his napkin. “I never knew tuna could taste like that.”

“So you liked the food?” Sun asked anxiously.

Neptune snorted. “Sun, you could have taken me to the canteen at Beacon and I wouldn’t have minded.”

The faunus frowned. “Really?”

“No, but… you don’t have to be so uptight.”

Sun grinned, slouching in his chair. Jaune had been right – Neptune was his best friend; he didn’t have anything to worry about.

Neptune leaned forwards. “So how long have you liked me?” he asked, a rose blush spreading across his cheeks. “I mean, I’m still annoyed at myself that I never caught on.”

Sun raised his eyebrow. _“You’re_ annoyed that you never caught on?”

Neptune snorted dryly. “In my defence, I don’t think you realised I liked you, too.”

“Wait, so…” Sun smirked. “You like me?”

Neptune ignored all of the suggestiveness in his voice and said: “Why else would I be here, idiot?”

Sun pouted. “Nerd.”

“Intellectual.”

They grinned.

“Seriously, though, how long have you liked me?” Neptune continued.

Sun shrugged. “I don’t really know. How long have _you_ liked _me?”_

Neptune bit his lip, thinking. It was adorable, really, and Sun would be lying if he said he didn’t find it just a little bit sexy.

“I think… the first time I thought of you as more than a friend was when you jumped in front of that boarbatusk for me,” he said.

“Ah, I see! I was your prince in shining armour!” Sun cried, sighing melodramatically.

Neptune snorted. “You were covered in mud, bruised, bloody and slightly drunk,” he said. “Nothing about that was princely.”

“Would you rather I'd let you die?”

“I could have handled it.”

“You were caught in a net trap, hanging from a tree,” Sun deadpanned. “Even worse, you managed to get into that situation _sober.”_

“Hey, I was sixteen!” Neptune protested.

“That was only three years ago,” the faunus pointed out.

“Whatever.” Neptune pouted. “You still haven’t answered my question.”

Sun paused, scratching his head. “I think… It was probably that moment, too. I don’t know, it just kind of… crept up on me, you know? Like, one day you were my best friend, the next… shit.”

The blue-haired boy grinned. “Yeah, that sounds familiar.”

Sun’s eyes flickered to the clock across the room, and all of a sudden the faunus jumped up. _Was it that time already!?_

“I have to go to the toilet,” he exclaimed loudly.

Neptune blinked.

“What?”

Sun disappeared without another word of explanation.

***

Neptune just sat there, bewildered. Had Sun just… left him? That couldn’t be it, right? Their date had been going so well… The blue-haired boy shrugged. Maybe Sun _did_ need the toilet. He waited for a couple of minutes, then got bored and checked his scroll. He had several messages from Scarlet, one from Weiss and seventeen from Nora, most of them in all capitals. He also had a missed call from his father, but he pushed his family to the back of his mind. Now was not the time.

Neptune started bouncing his leg impatiently when ten minutes had passed. He sniffed. Sun couldn’t have actually left, could he? Neptune swallowed the urge to start crying, because he knew it couldn’t be –

Sun burst back into the room triumphantly, a harried-looking waiter following after him, bearing a bottle of blood-red wine.

The faunus pointed. “I got us wine.” Sun rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Sorry it took so long, I couldn’t decide which one I wanted.”

Neptune’s mouth hung open. “A whole bottle!? Are you sure?”

“It’s on the house, sir,” the waiter said, smiling. “Any friend of Ms Blake’s is a friend of ours.”

Neptune met Sun’s eyes and he couldn’t help but grin. The relief he felt, it just… Sun hadn’t left him, and Neptune was ashamed for ever doubting he had.

Sun frowned. “Nep? You okay?”

Neptune swallowed, wiping away a tear. “I’m cool.”

***

Their date had lasted four hours, and five o’clock found Neptune escorting a very drunk Sun back to their dorm, even though it was only late afternoon.

“I’m just _so happy!”_ Sun bawled, clinging on to Neptune’s neck as if he were a tree.

“I know, Sun,” Neptune said exasperatedly, trying to get the faunus to stop crying. People were giving them weird looks, and it wasn’t helped by the fact that Sun had deemed it too hot and so kept trying to take off his clothes.

“Are you happy?” Sun asked through teary eyes. “Because if you’re not happy then I’m not happy and I’ll cry.”

“You’re already crying,” Neptune muttered underneath his breath. Sun heard him, though, and his lips trembled.

“You’re upset with me, aren’t you?” he asked. “I know it…”

Neptune cupped Sun’s face gently. “I’m not upset with you, Sun,” he said softly. “Today was perfect.”

Sun grinned brilliantly, then hugged him fiercely, burying his face into the crook of Neptune’s neck.

“Thank you,” Sun breathed, and Neptune had to steady himself to stop the weight of the faunus from pushing him over. Neptune ruffled his hair fondly. Yes, Sun had drunk three-quarters of that bottle of wine, but honestly? The day wouldn’t have felt right unless Sun did something stupid, and Neptune wouldn’t have had it any other way.

They started walking again, quicker this time, until Sun tripped, Neptune caught him and Sun decided he could feel Neptune’s abs through his shirt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was so satisfying to write! I hope you enjoyed it, too! Anyway, comments and kudos are always encouraging!


	14. The Morning After

When Sun woke up with the worst hangover he’d had in months, he just _knew_ something was wrong. He felt as if three separate Noras were pounding on his head with their hammers, and his entire body was flushed and sweaty, with another warm body pressed up against him. Alarm bells cut through the fog in his head and he leapt awake, scrambling backwards. The faunus moved too quickly, however, as a wave of nausea crashed over him. He leaned against the wall, panting, and Neptune moaned in his sleep, complaining about the sudden lack of warmth. Thankfully, they were both clothed. Sun would have never forgiven himself if his first time was when he was too drunk to remember it.

Neptune opened one eye. “Good morning,” he said sleepily. “You look as if you remember what happened last night.”

Sun frowned. “What did happen?”

“You got drunk and tried to climb the tower,” Neptune said. “Scarlet had to get you down from there.”

Sun groaned, hiding his face behind his hands. “Oh my Dust.”

“You also tried to strip and jump in the fountain, but I stopped you.”

“Nep, I am _so sorry – ”_

Neptune held up a hand to silence him. “Sun, it’s fine. I knew you were this stupid when I agreed to go out with you.”

“But…” Sun paled. “How many people saw this?”

The blue-haired boy winced. “A… couple.”

“How many?” he repeated.

“Not that many, actually, but…”

“But what?”

Neptune gave in. “Ozpin was kind of in the tower when you climbed it…”

Sun collapsed. “I am dead.”

Neptune laughed. “Ozpin thought it was quite funny, actually.”

Sun took refuge under the pillow, sorely regretting that bottle of wine. If he were anyone else, Sun would have considered never showing his face again, but as it stood, the faunus was used to people’s looks. Actually… Sun froze, and cursed himself for being too drunk to think things through properly.

He was a faunus.

Sun was used to people looking. He was used to the hurried glances at his tail, at the uncomfortable shuffling of people who’d rather not acknowledge he existed. He was used to people’s prejudices, but Neptune?

Aside from dating a faunus, Neptune was dating a man. If the first one didn’t make people look, the second one definitely would, and Sun didn’t know if he could handle that. He’d grown adept at ignoring any snide comments or insults directed at him, but if anyone so much as _breathed_ in Neptune’s direction…

Sun growled possessively. Anger boiled inside him – anger and guilt, for anything that Neptune suffered would be down to Sun and his tail…

The faunus yelped as Neptune placed his cool hand on Sun’s back.

“What’s wrong?” the blue-haired boy asked, concerned.

“Nothing,” Sun dismissed. He’d be damned if he let Neptune worry about this, too.

“Good.” Neptune hesitated. “Sun?”

“Yeah?”

“Does this mean… you know, as we went on a date, are we… boyfriends?”

Sun broke into a grin. “Sure! I mean, if you want to be…”

“I do,” Neptune said quickly, grabbing Sun’s hand.

Sun wriggled his fingers playfully, poking Neptune in the cheek with his tail. “I guess this means I’ll have to take you out on second date! Maybe we could go to another restaurant, or go clubbing or something…”

“No no,” Neptune interrupted, putting his finger on Sun’s lips. “This time, it’s _my_ turn to take you out.”

Sun blushed, fighting the urge to lick Neptune’s finger. Neptune’s trademark smirk wasn’t helping things, either.

***

“So did you have sex?” Yang asked eagerly.

“No, we did not have sex!” Neptune cried, and could only watch helplessly as Yang reluctantly handed over ten lien to both Scarlet and Nora.

He blinked. “Were you… betting on us?”

“Well yeah, obviously,” said Nora.

“When Sun came back pissed and clinging to you like a monkey clings to a tree, I thought for a moment Yang might win,” Scarlet added, grimacing.

Neptune groaned, blushing furiously. “Please stop this.”

Nora pouted. “Hey, come on, a girl needs to make money! I won two hundred lien when Yang got drunk and sort of kissed – ”

“HEY!” Yang cried, tackling Nora and clasping her hand over her mouth.

“Stop teasing him, guys,” Sage called from the other end of the table. “And, may I remind you, this is a _library_.”

“Sorry, Mum,” Scarlet whispered, and Yang and Nora snickered. Sage glared at them.

Just then, Neptune’s scroll started buzzing. He checked it, and his throat suddenly went dry as he realised it was his father.

“Hold on a moment, I need to take this,” he said, stepping out of the library.

***

Jaune opened the door to his dorm, and blinked.

“Hey, Jaune!” Neptune said, flashing him a smile yet rubbing his arm awkwardly. “Can I come in?”

Jaune frowned suspiciously, stepping aside. “Of course. Are you… okay?”

Neptune never spoke to him. Neptune was cool and sophisticated – popular. Jaune was not. The blonde shuffled around, swinging his arms. Neptune just stood there, a bit unnervingly, actually.

“I hear your date went well!” Jaune said, striving for some conversation.

Neptune slumped. “Yeah, about that – ”

“Oh Dust, Sun’s not drunk again, is he?” Jaune paled.

“Oh, no!” Neptune said hurriedly. “Everything’s fine between us, it’s just…” He swallowed nervously, scratching the back of his neck. “I… kind of…”

Neptune mumbled something, too low for Jaune to hear. “Sorry, what was that?”

To both of their surprises, Neptune clenched his eye shut, bowing hastily. “Please teach me how to dance!” he pleaded, his face flaming.

Jaune said nothing, stunned.

Neptune began to sweat, and mist started to condense around him.

“Yeah, sure, I’ll teach you,” Jaune said quickly, before the blue-haired boy’s semblance could worsen. The mist evaporated as Neptune sighed in relief.

“Thanks so much, buddy.” He breathed. “I swear to Dust, it took me the best part of an hour to pluck up the courage to ask you.”

“Yeah, but… why me?”

“You’re a good dancer,” Neptune said.

“Thanks.” Jaune swelled with pride.

“Also, you’re not as crazy as everyone else.”

“Fair point.”

Jaune tidied stuff out of the way, clearing room in the centre of the dorm. He grabbed his scroll, and flicked through his music.

“Just out of interest, why do you want to learn now?” Jaune asked.

Neptune grinned bashfully. “Actually, I wanted to take Sun clubbing for our next date.”

The blond smiled, and had to resist the urge to go _aww._ Most of Jaune’s music library was at least ten years old, but he finally found a song that was only nine years old, and put it on. A soft rock ballad started playing, one of the ones his sister Rouge was so fond of.

“Okay, so dancing isn’t actually that difficult,” Jaune said.

Neptune snorted. “That’s easy for you to say.”

“The problem I think you have, is that you can’t pick up a beat.”

Neptune nodded. “Right.”

“Most of the songs nowadays are going to be in four four, so the only thing you need to worry about is the timing…”

“Sorry, what?”

“Have you read any sheet music before?” Jaune asked.

Neptune winced. “A little…”

“Do you know songs are divided into bars?”

Neptune nodded. “Yep.”

“These bars are again divided into beats. Four four basically means there are four beats in a bar.”

Neptune pointed to the speakers, squinting. “I think I can kind of hear the beats… are they…” Neptune started counting with his hands.

Jaune nodded. “Kind of. Now you just need to find the first beat of the bar…”

Neptune paused, then started counting again.

“Yeah, that’s it!” Jaune encouraged. “Let’s move on to three four, now.”

He changed the song, this time to one a lot older than ten years.

Neptune bit his lip, concentrating. “This is a waltz, isn’t it…?”

***

Jin Wukong stared hopelessly into his lap, groaning. “You actually _climbed_ the _tower…”_

“It wasn’t as bad as it could have been!” Sun said in his defence. “Ozpin found it funny, apparently.”

“I gave birth to an idiot.” His Mum sighed. “What part of getting drunk is romantic?”

Sun blushed furiously, regretting his decision to tell his parents everything that happened. “Neptune didn’t mind!”

“Of course he didn’t,” his Dad said wryly. “Anyone’s who’s prepared to go out with you knows the risks.”

Sun glowered. “This is bullying.”

“If your grandfather was here he’d hang you out to dry,” his Mum said.

“I’m glad to hear it went well despite you getting drunk, though.” His Dad smiled. “My little monkey, all grown up!”

Sun pouted. “I feel as if you’re patronising me.”

“But of course!” his mother teased, ruffling his hair. “It’s a parent’s job.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Sun said, getting up. “I’ll be heading back now.”

His parents waved. “See you tomorrow.”

Sun had managed to avoid bumping into anyone all day, but just as he was creeping back into his dorm, he walked straight into none other than Professor Ozpin himself. Great.

“Ah! Sun!” Ozpin said. “I’m glad to see you’re feeling better today.”

Sun flushed with embarrassment, stuttering. “S-Sir, I’m so s-sorry about – ”

Ozpin cut him off with a lazy wave. “Don’t worry about it, my boy. We’ve all done stupid things under the influence of alcohol. Why, I remember this one time, I… actually, that’s probably not something I should be telling a student.”

Ozpin chuckled, and Sun swallowed awkwardly.

“Look after him, okay?” Ozpin said, peering at him over the rim of his glasses. “God knows you’ll need each other in the times to come.”

The faunus frowned. “What?”

Ozpin shook his head. “Just an old man’s ramblings.”

The headmaster left, and Sun couldn’t help but shiver.

***

During the course of learning the waltz, Neptune had been forced to take the part of the woman due to his inexperience. This in itself he didn’t mind, but he paid close attention to how Jaune was moving, in hope of one day sweeping Sun off his feet, perhaps even literally. As it happened, though, Nora walked in on Neptune with his hands on Jaune’s shoulders, and Jaune with his hands on Neptune’s waist.

Nora clapped her hands to her mouth, gasping in shock.

_“Jaune’s cheating on Pyrrha!”_ she cried, aghast. “And Neptune, how could you do this to Sun!? Your date was only yesterday!”

They broke apart hastily.

“We’re not… it’s not…” Jaune spluttered.

“Jaune was teaching me how to dance,” Neptune explained, and Nora relaxed.

“Oh, okay then.” She frowned. “Why were you doing the waltz, though?”

Neptune shrugged. “Apparently it’s the most important dance…?”

Nora tutted, plugging her scroll into the speakers. “Jaune still lives in the fifteenth century,” she dismissed. “If you want to dance to _real_ music, then prepare your body!”

Some sort of electronic M-Pop blared from the speakers, startling Neptune. Nora grabbed him, however, and started twirling him around as if he were a leaf on the wind.

“Come on, boy, _dance!”_ she said, grinning.

Neptune panicked, then remembered what Jaune had taught him and tried his best to move to the beat. He lost his confidence when Nora snickered, though.

“You have to move your arms, too, otherwise you just look as if you need the toilet,” Jaune said. “And for goodness’ sake, _relax._ You’re supposed to be enjoying yourself.”

“Yeah!” said Nora. “Other people might laugh at you, but when you think about it, everyone looks ridiculous. Just have fun!”

Neptune took a deep breath, and let the music take hold of him. The beat picked him up and all of a sudden he found that it wasn’t his brain moving his body, but the rhythm. He relaxed, and what would you know? Dancing was actually quite fun. He could almost forget about his father’s phone call…

Almost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I couldn't resist putting in a reference to Volume 3. I'm still not over it...


	15. Storm Clouds

“What do you mean, your parents are coming?”

“I mean, my parents are coming to Vale because of the Vytal Festival,” Neptune repeated, gathering his books for the day.

“Wait, are these the rich, judgemental douchebags we’ve heard so much about?” Scarlet asked.

Neptune pulled a face. “Yeah…”

So far, Neptune had been trying to think about his parents as little as possible. They meant well, but every moment he spent with them was a reminder of his old life, with his sister, and he still wasn’t sure if he was ready for that. Plus, he was actively training his semblance now, and his parents were quick to jump to conclusions…

“When are they coming?” Sage asked.

“Tomorrow,” Neptune replied. “Father called, telling me it would be wonderful if I was there to escort them to their hotel in person.”

“What hotel are they staying at?” Sun asked curiously. “Maybe it’s the same one as my family!”

Neptune faltered, and masked his deepening feeling of dread with a smile. “Maybe!”

They wouldn’t be, of course. His parents would have made reservations at the most expensive place in Vale, and a hotel with an exclusively human clientele. He’d known since the day before that he couldn’t tell them about his boyfriend – on top of being a man, Sun was a faunus, and his father had a history with the White Fang. Neptune snorted. When he thought about it, family-wise he was in rather a similar situation as Weiss, at least where faunus were concerned.

Neptune left the dorm, and Sun followed him.

“Are you going to tell your parents about us?” the faunus asked carefully. “It’s okay if you can’t. I…” He clenched his fist, and his tail drooped. “I understand.”

Neptune swallowed guiltily. “I’m sorry,” he apologised quietly.

“It’s fine,” Sun lied. “I guess not everyone can have parents as accepting as mine.”

Neptune frowned. “Wait, you’ve told your parents about us?”

Sun nodded. “Yeah, of course. They already knew, though.”

Once again, Neptune felt like kicking himself. “Did the whole world know except me!?”

Sun grinned. “Apparently so.”

They parted ways as Neptune headed into Glynda’s office. To his surprise, however, Glynda was the only one there, this time.

“Where’s Roxo?” he asked, taking a seat.

Glynda shook her head. “Several supply trains have been attacked,” she explained. “Roxo’s helping the police investigate.”

“Do they know who’s behind it?” Neptune asked.

She frowned. “I shouldn’t be telling you this, but… well…” The professor narrowed her eyes. “We suspect it’s the White Fang.”

“What are they taking?”

“Supplies, mostly,” said Glynda. “What’s more worrying is that they’ve stolen several crates of arms, as well.”

Neptune shook his head. “I’d have thought with Roman Torchwick apprehended, the attacks would have stopped.”

“General Ironwood thought so, too,” she said frostily, then sighed. “This is classified information, Neptune, so please be discreet.”

He frowned. “Then why did you tell me?”

“Most of the trains attacked belong to your father’s company,” Glynda said slowly. “I thought you’d like to know.”

Neptune clutched his head, groaning. “My parents are visiting tomorrow…”

Glynda pushed her glasses up her nose. “I suppose they’re not too keen on faunus.”

“That’s the more polite way of putting it…”

“You mustn’t let yourself get agitated, Neptune,” Glynda warned. “You’ve been making excellent progress, lately, and you can’t afford to fall behind if you want to participate in the Vytal Festival.”

“I know,” he said, his eyes narrowing. Sage and Scarlet were counting on him, and Sun, too. He was _not_ about to let them down just because of his parents. And – who knows? Maybe Neptune was just being paranoid, expecting the worse. He’d managed to go three years without any major incidents with his family… Only, things were different now, and those things all began with the letter ‘S’.

***

The remainder of that day passed all too quickly. Sun tried his best to cheer his boyfriend up, but all his attempts were in vain. His parents’ visit was a storm cloud looming over Neptune, and that storm only grew worse the next morning. It’s not that Neptune was angry, or annoyed – oh no. Instead, Neptune held it all in, trying to pretend that everything was alright yet fooling nobody.

“You need to take a break, Neptune,” said Sage. “The flight only lands at eleven; it’s eight o’clock!”

Neptune was combing his hair, brushing the same strands over and over again.

“You don’t understand,” Neptune said, irritated.

Scarlet raised an eyebrow. “Are you afraid they’ll find out about your relationship with Sun?”

Neptune flinched.

“Exactly.”

Sun shrugged. “They don’t have to know.” He grinned. “Hey, I know! I could go with you and introduce myself as the team leader! That way they won’t suspect a thing, and I can help you with your nerves!”

“Yeah, sure,” Neptune said absent-mindedly. He blinked. “Actually, no, you can’t come.”

Sun’s smile dropped. “Oh.”

Neptune rubbed his hand apologetically. “Sorry, it’s just… you know how it is.”

Sun swallowed. “Yeah…”

The faunus was acutely aware that Neptune didn’t hold on to his hand for very long, and when Sun poked him gently with his tail, Neptune brushed it off. Sun frowned anxiously, wishing there was something he could do to help, but… There wasn’t. Sun could only imagine what Neptune’s relationship with his parents was like, especially considering what happened with his sister…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's such a short chapter this time. As I've mentioned, I have exams, so I don't know how much I'll be able to write. Luckily, I have two chapters lined up, so we're good for another two weeks! Unluckily, the next chapter is... eventful.


	16. A Silent Scream

Neptune simultaneously regretted not letting Sun accompany him, yet was glad his boyfriend wasn’t there. He was sweating with nerves, his breath hitching every time the display with the flight times changed, and his cup of coffee only served to heighten his anxiety. If Sun was here, the faunus would slap him and tell him to pull himself together, and Neptune’s body ached for Sun’s closeness. On the other hand, Neptune knew things would deteriorate the moment his parents lay eyes on the faunus, and he was not willing to put Sun through that as well. Even if his parents didn’t know they were dating, they weren’t likely to approve of his best friend having a tail, and he could guarantee his father wouldn’t be pleased when he found out that Neptune’s team leader was a faunus.

And that was the thing – it wasn’t the fact that he had a boyfriend that terrified him, it was the fact that his boyfriend was a faunus. Neptune had grown up in a community where the only faunus they ever heard about were the White Fang, or criminals on the news, and seeing as his parents moved in such elite, closed circles, they had little to no interaction with normal faunus. The blue-haired boy smiled wryly. Neptune had been surprised when he found out his roommate at Haven had a tail, to say the least…

Neptune had been daydreaming so much that he jumped when he saw that his parents’ flight had landed. Hastily, he finished his coffee and threw it in the bin, making his way over to Arrivals.

Of course his parents were the first off the plane – they owned it.

Rhea Vasilias was striking – there was no other way to describe her. Although well into her forties, Neptune’s mother had aged remarkably well. Her dark, raven-black hair rippled as she walked, gently caressing her gracious figure. The monochrome dress she wore did its best to show off her smooth, olive skin, and her face was hidden under the shade of a delicate dress hat, her electric blue eyes framed by a pair of glamorous sunglasses.

Saturn Vasilias was equally as stylish as his wife – of course, Rhea would never let her husband accompany her in public looking anything less than perfect. Neptune’s father was a large man, imposing in his stern, green eyes and his high cheekbones. He was wearing a grey suit, and indeed the only colour on him was the deep indigo worked into his hair, just beginning to fade to silver.

His parents were the type of couple that owned a room simply by walking into it. Eyes followed them wherever they went, yet they adored the spotlight, his mother especially thriving in the attention. Rhea had grown up the third daughter in a middle-class family, not poor, but nowhere near as rich as she currently was. She’d dedicated her life to making it into the upper echelons of society, and had made a name for herself even before marrying Saturn. Saturn Vasilias was old money, born the heir to the Olympus Corporation, the largest shipping magnate in Atlas by far. It stood to reason that they could afford such luxuries as a private jet, then.

Neptune’s father’s gaze swept across the place, then found him.

“Neptune!” Saturn called, waving.

His parents strolled over to him and his mother hugged him warmly, his father shaking his hand.

“You look dashing!” Rhea smiled. “I’m glad to see you’re taking care of yourself.”

“You look beautiful as always, mother,” Neptune replied.

His mother giggled coyly. “Why, thank you.”

Neptune’s parents had arranged for their luggage to be taken to the hotel ahead of them, as they wanted Neptune to walk them through Vale, so that they could get a feel of the city. Neptune was just glad he didn’t have to carry anything. As they made their way out of the airport, Neptune had to shield his eyes from the midday sun.

“So how was your flight?” Neptune asked.

“Oh, it was fine, I suppose,” his mother replied. “A little bit bumpy, though.”

He frowned. “Turbulence?”

“Something of the sort.”

His father pulled a face. “I wouldn’t be surprised if those animals were behind that, too,” he joked.

“Excuse me?”

“He means the White Fang, dear,” Rhea said.

“Ah.” Neptune grimaced. “I’d heard they’ve been causing a bit of trouble.”

“A bit of trouble?” his father cried. “A _bit_ of _trouble!?_ They’re terrorists, the lot of them! The damned animals, taking what doesn’t belong to them!”

Neptune breathed in deeply, and had to avoid making eye contact with a family of faunus across the road lest his guilt overwhelm him.

“Darling, don’t raise your voice in the street,” his mother said, placing a hand on his father’s arm.

Saturn apologised to his wife sheepishly.

“You see, those faunus have been raiding our trains for the past five months, and we’re losing a lot of business,” Rhea explained. “We’ve had to invest heavily in a private security company to protect our wares.”

Neptune frowned. “Shouldn’t the military be helping?”

His mother shook her head. “They’re all too worried about what’s going to happen _here.”_

His father snorted. “As if anyone would dare attack the Vytal Festival.”

“They have reason to be worried, though,” said Neptune. “Grimm broke into the city just the other week.”

His mother gasped. “My word! How terrible!”

Saturn shook his head. “The White Fang were involved with that, too. When are they going to learn? The only solution is to get rid of all faunus! Send them back to Menagerie or wherever they came from.”

Neptune pulled a face. “Actually, the faunus were here before us.”

“I doubt that very much.”

Neptune had to bite his lip to stop himself from yelling. Arguing with his father only succeeded in flaring both of their tempers, and with the way things stood now, Neptune didn’t trust himself not to slam his father into a wall with a watery fist.

Conversation changed to more pleasant subjects when his mother asked about his education.

“I’m having private lessons with Professor Goodwitch, actually,” Neptune said.

“Oh?” His mother raised her eyebrow. “What for?”

He shuffled embarrassedly. “Actually, she’s… training me to use my semblance.”

His father chuckled wryly. “Don’t tell me you’ve inherited the Vasilias knack for weather?”

Neptune blinked in surprise. “We have a hereditary semblance?” So Roxo _had_ been right.

“It skips generations, but yes, we do,” Saturn replied. “The last person to possess the family ability was my grandfather, your great-grandfather.”

Neptune scratched his head. “Oh.”

His father had said weather – did that mean Neptune’s semblance was different, or was his father just confusing things? Neptune was still hesitant to bring up what his actual semblance was, though, so he went along with it.

“May we see your semblance?” his mother asked.

He shrugged. “Perhaps you’ll get to see me in action during the Vytal Festival.”

“How exciting!” Rhea grinned.

Saturn clapped him on the back. “Make us proud, okay? We’ll be cheering for you and your team.”

“Speaking of which,” his mother said, “when can we get to meet your team? I’ve only ever seen them in photos!”

“Soon, maybe,” Neptune said. He grinned nervously, grateful that the only photos his parents had seen had been of Sun from the waist up.

Just then, they passed a couple in the streets – a gay, faunus couple.

His father snorted in disgust, turning his nose. “They really _are_ animals, aren’t they?”

Neptune’s blood went cold, and the temperature plummeted. He got himself under control just as ice crystals started to form on his jacket, clenching his fist.

“The hotel’s just up the road,” he said, trying to distract his father from glaring at the couple.

“Oh, how wonderful!” his mother cried. “It’s right in the centre!”

As the hotel came into view, however, Neptune saw another sight that made him pale, a sickening feeling in his gut.

Sun’s mother, Huang, and his sister, Yaya. Yaya was holding her mother’s hand, pulling her along and pointing to a clock in the distance, both of their tails plainly visible. Huang had an exasperated smile on her face, and the two of them looked so happy, so _carefree…_

Neptune ducked out of sight just as Sun’s mother glanced his way. Luckily, neither of them spotted him, and they were soon on their way. Neptune breathed a sigh of relief, once again pushing the guilt deep down inside of him.

“Neptune?” Rhea asked. “Are you alright?”

He nodded. “Yeah, of course.”

***

Sun was taking the rooftop pathway back to their dorm when he heard familiar voices whispering in the courtyard. He stopped, curious. Sun peered over the rooftop, and saw Neptune and Weiss, standing together. Weiss had a hand on her hip, tapping her foot impatiently, and Neptune…

Sun frowned, staying hidden – something was wrong.

“Well?” Weiss asked. “Why did you call me out here at this time of night? Did something happen with your parents?”

Ah. So that was it…

“No, it’s…” Neptune swallowed nervously, his voice hoarse. “It’s Sun.”

The faunus in question froze.

Weiss frowned. “What about him?”

“I…” He hesitated, struggling to say the words. “I can’t be with him.”

No.

Sun didn’t believe what he’d just heard. There had to be some mistake –

“Why not!?” Weiss asked. “You’ve gone through all of this trouble, just to get together!”

Neptune stood silently, the shadows masking his expression. He was still for a very long time, and each second that passed was an arrow ripping into Sun’s heart. Eventually, almost too quiet for Sun to hear:

 

“He’s a faunus.”

 

Sun ran.

He screamed but there was no sound, his voice lost, his heart ripped to pieces. He was feeling too much, and he couldn’t think, he couldn’t breathe, because this wasn’t real.

It couldn’t be real.

 

Neptune.

 

Of all people, Neptune…

 

Sun screamed and this time there was sound, a desperate, desolate howl that bled from his lungs and tore from his throat. All his anger, all his pain, all his self-loathing and hatred…

He tripped on a loose tile and stumbled, falling into an alleyway with a crash. His body was burning and his head was pounding, black spots dancing in his vision. Sun stumbled to his feet groggily, and his tail bobbed in front of him, teasing him.

His tail.

In a fit of rage Sun grabbed one of the loose tiles that had fallen, a broken one with a jagged edge. He opened his mouth and a pathetic noise escaped him as he brought the shard down on his tail, crying, but –

He stopped.

Sun slumped to the ground, the tile slipping from his grasp. He was bruised and battered, blood and grime clinging to him from the fall. He couldn’t see properly from all of the tears coursing down his face, yet his breathing stilled, his heartbeat returning to normal.

 

It couldn’t be true.

 

Sun had misheard it, misinterpreted what Neptune said. And yet… Neptune had been distracted these past two days, distant. Anxious, worried. They’d only been going out for three days. _Three days._ When Sun thought about it, that was nothing at all.

Was it possible he’d had it all wrong?

Was it possible Sun hadn’t known Neptune at all?

His gaze flickered back to the broken shard by his feet, and he fingered his tail uselessly. Neptune used to –

 

No.

 

He couldn’t think about him, not anymore.

 

 

Sun had to forget about Neptune completely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *clenches eyes shut* So how was it? I hope this chapter wasn't too rushed, or too sudden or anything. Your feedback would be greatly appreciated!


	17. Missing

Weiss punched him.

“Wait – ”

She punched him again and summoned a glyph, throwing him into a wall.

“How _dare_ you say that!?” Weiss cried. “How _dare_ you – ”

“Weiss, wait, you don’t understand!” Neptune stammered.

She glared at him. _“Explain.”_

“It’s my parents,” Neptune said. “They’re racist, homophobic, and…” He closed his eyes, blinking back the tears. “I was escorting them to their hotel when I saw Sun’s mother and sister on the street. I couldn’t..” He breathed. “I hid from her. They looked so… happy, and…”

Neptune looked up. “They’re a family. What right do I have to come with all my problems and make things worse? If my parents saw me talking with faunus as if I knew them…” He shook his head. “I’m not willing to put Sun or his family through that.”

“So you’re going to leave him because you’re afraid your parents will say mean things to him and his family?” Weiss asked. “You do realise how ridiculous that sounds, right?”

“That’s not – ” Neptune stopped, then gave in. “Yeah.”

Weiss’ eyes softened. “Listen, Neptune. I know your parents care for you in their own way, but you can’t deny yourself happiness because of them. More importantly, you can’t deny _Sun_ happiness because of them.”

His voice failed him. “I…”

“It’ll be difficult,” she said. “I know it will, but you’ve got friends here, and more importantly, you’ve got Sun.” Weiss extended her hand. “Is he worth it?”

Neptune’s eyes narrowed, and he took her hand. She pulled him to his feet.

“He is,” Neptune said resolutely.

Weiss nodded. “Good.”

***

When Neptune went to sleep, Sun wasn’t there. This was a little odd, but not unusual, so Neptune thought nothing of it. Sun wasn’t there in the morning either, however, neither in his bed nor in Neptune’s. Neptune dressed quickly, then found Sage in the library. Scarlet was sitting next to him, and they were studying for a test that Neptune had forgotten about.

“Did Sun come home at all last night?” he asked.

Sage frowned. “I don’t remember seeing him. Why?”

Neptune shook his head as if to get rid of the growing anxiety within him. “Nothing.”

He went to find Blake at another table, trying to think of what could have happened to Sun. He wasn’t drunk again, was he? Passed out in an alleyway somewhere, or even worse, on top of another building…

Blake was with the rest of team RWBY, playing Remnant: the Game. Much to his chagrin, Weiss wasn’t faring any better than the last time he’d seen her play, despite several hours of him trying to teach her strategy.

“Neptune, thank goodness you’re here!” Yang grinned. “Weiss desperately needs your help.”

“Hey, I do not!” the heiress cried indignantly. “I’m doing just fine.”

“Oh yeah?” Ruby challenged. “Guess who just rolled an eight on Giant Nevermore?”

Weiss gasped. “Ruby! You promised you wouldn’t!”

“I had my fingers crossed.”

Neptune chuckled wryly. “Blake, you haven’t seen Sun around, have you?”

The faunus blinked. “Sun? No, why?”

“He didn’t come home last night, and I can’t find him,” Neptune said, scratching the back of his head.

Blake frowned. “That’s odd…”

Yang smirked. “Have you checked up your a – ”

“Not helpful, Yang,” Ruby interrupted.

Weiss rubbed her temple slowly. “How does Sun normally get to your dorm?”

“Through the window,” said Neptune. “He usually climbs across the… rooftops…” He paled. “You don’t think…?”

“Sun?” Pyrrha called from the other table, turning around. “I think I saw him by the science block last night.”

Weiss’ eyes widened, and Neptune felt ill.

“Shit.”

“What?” asked Blake.

“Neptune’s an idiot, that’s what,” Weiss said, standing up. “Pyrrha, are you sure you saw Sun by the science block?”

The redhead nodded. “Positive.”

“What time?” Neptune asked.

“Um…” Pyrrha frowned. “I think it was around ten…”

They all jumped when they heard a clap of thunder. It was still blue outside, however, the sky inconspicuous.

Neptune was panicking. If Sun had overheard what he’d said, how much had he overheard? What if he’d jumped to conclusions? What if Neptune had just ruined the only thing that had made him happy –

Sage and Scarlet came over, laughing until they read the mood.

Scarlet blinked. “Dude, are you okay?”

Silence.

“Neptune, what happened?” Blake asked, her voice marked.

“I…” He swallowed. “I said something I shouldn’t have, that Sun may have heard out of context…”

Blake raised her eyebrow.

Weiss briefly explained the situation.

“Oh my Dust,” gasped Ruby.

“How could you?” Blake cried. _“How could you ever say that!?_ Do you have any idea what it’s like for us faunus? _Do you!?”_

“I’m sorry!” Neptune yelled, just as there was another clap of thunder. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, his voice hoarse.

Sun thought Neptune hated him because he was a faunus.

Sun thought Neptune was racist.

Sun thought Neptune hated him –

Sage placed a hand on his back. “Calm down,” he said, and Neptune breathed. He looked up, and met Sage’s glowing, green eyes. “We’ll find him, okay? We’ll find him.”

Yang nodded. “You don’t even know he heard you.”

“Well, we need to find him, first,” said Ren.

Jaune stood up, taking charge. “We need to be organised about this,” he said. “Neptune, where’s he most likely to be?”

“I don’t know,” Neptune replied. “He could be with his family, or he could be at Shuilian, or the Huaguo downtown…”

“Okay,” said Jaune. “Ruby, you and your team look for him in the commercial district. Team JNPR, we’ll take the residential district, and then meet up with team RWBY. Neptune, Sage and Scarlet, if you check with Sun’s family first, then go to the industrial district...” He scratched his head. “Actually, are we sure Sun’s not at Beacon?”

Neptune nodded. “He’s not here.”

“Right then, that settles that,” Jaune said. “Does everyone know what they’re doing?”

They all nodded.

“As soon as you find Sun, text the others,” he finished off with.

Neptune made his way to the garage where his motorcycle was parked, tapping his fingers anxiously. He was both praying that Sun would be with his parents and dreading it. Mr and Mrs Wukong already knew about the two of them – how could Neptune tell them what had happened? Oh Dust. What if –

“Neptune,” Sage repeated, grabbing hold of him. “Neptune, look at me.”

Neptune was rooted in the jade of Sage’s eyes, transfixed.

“You’re panicking, Neptune,” Sage said, yet even as he said it his semblance washed over Neptune, soothing him. “You made a mistake. So what? You get over it. Panicking will only make things worse.”

Neptune nodded numbly, serenity clouding his mind. He was relaxed, too relaxed.

Scarlet snorted, waving his hand in front of Neptune’s eyes. Neptune didn’t respond. Why bother?

“You used to much, Sage.”

Sage frowned. “Perhaps. It’s better too much than too little, though. Did you see the ice forming on his clothes?”

Scarlet grimaced. “Good point.”

Sage eased Neptune onto the motorcycle, buckling him in. “Can you drive this thing?”

Scarlet winced. “Probably. I’ll go slowly.”

The green-haired man nodded. “Appreciated.”

Scarlet rummaged around in Neptune’s pockets and found the keys, gesturing to the blue-haired boy. “What about him?”

Neptune listened to their conversation, and smiled. He just felt so at peace right now! Nothing was wrong; nothing could go wrong…

Sage shrugged. “He should come around by the time we get there.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! I've nearly finished writing this, so hopefully updates will speed up now! As always, please do tell me what you think. Thanks for reading!


	18. A Family

Sun’s feet hurt. All of him hurt, in fact. A lot.

He was tired, dirty and hungry, and felt shit in general.

Jump to conclusions, his heart said. Run away, his heart said. Forget about Neptune, his heart said. Well, none of those things had worked now, had they? He wandered the industrial district, keeping his head down and his tail hidden. People were busy here, hurrying past him without a second look. Rubbish bags lay in alleyways, disembowelled by foxes, and the scent of oil and hot metal assaulted his nose, causing him to gag. Still, he kept walking. No one here knew him, and even if they did it wasn’t likely they would recognise him.

At first he’d been too angry to go back to Beacon, too heartbroken. Then it was his stubbornness that had stood in his way. Eventually, hunger overcame his stubbornness, only now he was lost. He’d tried to climb a building to get his bearing, but his body still ached from the fall, and his hands and feet were all bruised and scraped. As luck would have it, he had no money on him, and the aforementioned injuries made stealing a fruitless endeavour. His scroll had broken during his fall, too, so he had no idea if anyone was trying to find him.

Sun snorted. People probably hadn’t even realised he was missing, yet. He’d briefly considered going to his family, but he couldn’t face them right now. Besides, they’d probably just tell him he was being stupid.

**_“He’s a faunus.”_ **

 

Neptune’s words kept playing in his mind, hounding him. They’d chased him when he’d ran away, and even now they were whispering incessantly, insidiously, clawing at his soul. He’d tried to reason with himself, tried to figure things out, but those words wouldn’t let him. It was the way Neptune had said it, not with contempt or disgust, just… stating it, a matter of fact.

He was a faunus, and that was why Neptune couldn’t be with him.

***

By the time Neptune realised Sage had played with his emotions, they were nearly at the hotel. He blinked, his mind groggy, as if he’d just woken up.

“Sage, did you…?”

“Sorry,” Sage apologised. “I was trying to calm you down, but I used a little too much influence.”

Neptune frowned slowly. “No harm done, I guess…”

Sage’s semblance was empathy, an ability which allowed him to know exactly what those around him were feeling, and through physical contact even manipulate those emotions. It wasn’t that useful in battle, but had proved vital in keeping their team together during those early weeks when they’d still been getting to know each other, or when Neptune was having breakdowns, apparently.

Scarlet parked, and they got off.

“What if his parents aren’t here?” Neptune asked.

Sage shrugged. “We’ll find them.”

They needn’t have worried, however, as they interrupted the Wukongs in the middle of breakfast. Neptune snorted. It seemed as if waking up late was in Sun’s blood, then.

“Neptune!” one of the twin’s cried. Neptune couldn’t remember which one.

“Sage! Scarlet!” the other twin said, jumping down from the table. Jin grabbed his tail, however, holding the other one by the scruff of his neck.

“Nuh uh,” their father scolded. “You two are to finish eating, first.”

Mara and Cuja pouted, their tails puffing up, irritated.

“Good morning,” Huang said, smiling. “What brings you boys here?”

Neptune felt a pang of guilt as his eyes met hers, and he stopped.

“You haven’t seen Sun, by any chance, have you?” asked Sage.

Sun’s mother blinked. “Sun? No, why?” She frowned. “Is he missing?”

Jin chuckled. “I wouldn’t worry about it. He’s probably drunk again.”

Scarlet winced. “You heard about that?”

Huang rolled her eyes. “We were told all about the date.”

Sun’s sister’s ears perked up when she overheard this, and she frowned.

Neptune clenched his fists, trembling. He swallowed dryly. “About that…”

Huang frowned. “Neptune?” She stood up gently. “What’s wrong?”

“I saw you, yesterday,” he said, his voice wavering.

“Oh, yes!” she recalled. “I remember. You were with your parents, weren’t you? I’m sorry I couldn’t stop, Yaya wanted to watch a karate tournament downtown that started at twelve.”

Neptune shook his head. “No, that’s a good thing. My parents… aren’t the greatest. I…” He swallowed. “I’m sorry. I was scared, and I said something stupid, and Sun… I think he overheard what I said.”

“What did you say?” asked Jin.

Neptune closed his eyes. “I said I couldn’t be with Sun because he’s a faunus.”

He was expecting an outburst, but… silence. An underwhelming, overwhelming silence.

“I didn’t mean it, it’s just…” He blinked back tears. “You’re a family. You’re happy together, and you care for each other. I’m just going to ruin everything, and… if my parents find out I’m dating a faunus, they’ll…” He gulped. “I can’t put you through that.”

Quite unexpectedly, Huang hugged him.

“You idiot,” she cried, holding him close. “You poor, clueless idiot. All we care about is that our son is happy, and his happiness is you.”

Neptune felt the tears start to fall, and he fell to his knees.

“We don’t care about your parents,” Sun’s mother said. “We don’t care about all of the stigma or hatred we’ll receive. Dust knows we’ve had enough of it already.” She held his face, looking into his eyes. “Neptune, we’re a family. We love and support each other, but we also fight, bicker and argue. We get on each other’s nerves until we’re sick and tired of each other, but even then, we’re a family. We face our problems together, and we get through them.”

Yaya got down from the table, walking over to Neptune. “Why did you go on a date with my brother?” she asked innocently. “You’re both boys.”

Neptune wiped his eyes. “Because I love him,” he whispered.

“Then why are you crying?” Yaya asked. Sun’s sister looked up at him plainly, the question a simple one. “If you love him, why are you crying?”

“Because I – ”

“Everyone says stupid things,” his sister said. “Once, Sun told me that octopus people lived in the drains in our house, and that if I annoyed him they would steal me away during the middle of the night.”

Scarlet snickered, and Neptune smiled despite himself.

Yaya grinned, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry,” she said. “We’ll find Sun.”

“Everyone makes mistakes, Neptune,” said Jin.

They stood up, and Neptune brushed himself off, sniffing.

“The problem is we don’t know where Sun went,” Sage started. “We’ve got both teams RWBY and JNPR looking for him.”

Jin scratched his head. “Have you tried the Huaguo or Shuilian?”

“Team RWBY are going there now,” said Sage.

Scarlet clenched his fists. “If only we knew where he’s run off to.”

“He hasn’t,” Yaya spoke up.

They all blinked.

“What?” asked Neptune.

“Sun doesn’t run off,” she said. “He just runs.”

Neptune groaned in despair, and a gust of wind blew through the room. “He’s lost, isn’t he?”

Jin grimaced. “Probably.”

The heard the soft drumbeat of raindrops beginning to fall, and Scarlet shook his head.

“I guess I’d better take to the skies,” he said.

“How long can you fly for?” Sage asked.

“Ten, fifteen minutes, maybe,” the redhead said. “Longer if I just go from rooftop to rooftop.”

Neptune nodded. “You do that. We’ll look for him from the ground.”

“We’ll help,” Huang said.

Neptune’s eyes softened. “Thanks.”

***

It was well and truly raining now. The rain thundered down, mercilessly drenching anything and everything it touched. Jaune was soaked to his bones, and he was downright miserable. If it weren’t for the fact that Sun was still missing, he would have retreated as soon as the first clap of thunder. As it stood, he was here, searching for a faunus amidst the raging elements. Well, amidst Neptune’s frightened semblance, he suspected. Dust help whoever had to fight team SSSN during the Vytal Tournament…

Pyrrha was speaking to an elderly couple across the street, asking them if they’d seen Sun, but the woman shook her head and Pyrrha thanked them, once again joining Jaune.

“No luck?”

Pyrrha shook her head. “No one’s seen him, Jaune,” she said anxiously. “What if something’s happened?”

“Sun can take care of himself.”

“He’s not thinking straight,” said Pyrrha. “What if an accident happened? He could be hurt, or worse…”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Jaune started, rubbing Pyrrha’s hand to reassure her. Pyrhha smiled at him and he blushed, but just then he caught a glimpse of something in an alleyway, and stopped.

“What’s wrong?” Pyrrha frowned.

They walked over to the alleyway, and Jaune bent down, inspecting the ground. He looked up, pointing.

“Do you see that?” he asked. “The tiles are broken.”

Pyrrha rubbed her chin. “Those rubbish bags are disturbed as well, as if…” Their eyes met. “As if someone fell from the rooftops.”

Jaune searched around, moving the rubbish bags out of the way. The alleyway was only a couple of metres high, but there was no telling how serious the fall had been, or indeed if Sun had been the one that had fallen. There were dry patches underneath the bags that had escaped the rain, and a couple of the tiles beside them were dry, too. Jaune picked up one of them and turned it over. His eyes widened.

“Pyrrha,” he said. The girl froze as she saw the bloodstains on the clay.

“I’m calling the others,” she said, getting out her scroll.

Jaune swallowed. “Good idea.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have finally finished writing this! Now I'll be able to update at least twice a week... :)


	19. Two Idiots in the Rain

Sun had thought his body had recovered from the kraken. Apparently, it had not. The combination of falling off a roof, slipping on wet tiles and being drenched head to toe in freezing rainwater had made his body realise that actually, it was _not okay._

The faunus was pretty sure he recognised where he was, but the rain was pouring so heavily that he couldn’t see properly, and the pounding in his head did little to help. If only his scroll hadn’t broken, he would have given in and looked up the way back to Beacon already. If only the storm wasn’t this fierce, he would have been able to make his own way back. If only he wasn’t this bruised and battered, the shops he’d sought refuge in wouldn’t have kicked him out. If only…

_Oh for Dust’s sake, stop it! Look at you, Sun, you’re pathetic._

His stomach growled.

_Pathetic and starving,_ he snorted.

***

“This is not good,” said Sage. “This is not good.”

“We know!” Yang growled.

“Can’t you do anything about the weather?” Sage asked. “This rain is making everything worse.”

“I’m trying!” Neptune hissed, raindrops swirling around him erratically. “I told you, it wasn’t me that did this!”

“In his defence, it was supposed to rain today,” Blake pointed out. “Unfortunately, the rain has washed away any scent trail.”

Neptune, Sage, Yang and Blake were in the alleyway with Jaune and Pyrrha, helplessly trying to figure things out. Ruby and Weiss had gone one way, and Ren and Nora had gone the other, while Scarlet was still in the sky, braving the elements for Neptune’s stupidity. Sun was injured, and it was Neptune’s fault. The guilt surged up in him but he shook his head at it, willing it back down. He couldn’t afford to fall prey to his emotions, not now. Jin had taken Sun’s brothers back to the hotel, the storm too much for them, but Huang and Yaya were still out there, searching.

“This is turning into a real mess,” Yang sighed, and Blake nodded in agreement, the cat faunus trying her best to stay dry.

“I still think it’s a good idea for one of us to go back to Beacon, in case he returns there,” Jaune was saying.

“We’ll do it,” said Yang, revving her motorcycle.

Jaune nodded.

***

Ren leapt across to the next rooftop and Nora followed. Her feet slipped on the wet tiles, however, and she cried out in panic before Ren grabbed her hand, pulling her onto the rooftop with him.

“Careful,” he said, making sure she was okay.

“No shit,” Nora panted, her heartbeat racing from the adrenaline.

They peered over the edge of the building, scanning the streets.

“I just don’t understand how anyone can get so lost,” said Nora.

“Not lost,” Ren replied, pointing. Nora walked over to join him on the other side, squinting. There – limping through the streets – a dejected figure with golden hair and a drooping tail.

Sun.

***

Scarlet dropped from above them, landing with a splash in the middle of a puddle. He grimaced, shivering, and shook his head.

“No luck,” he breathed, steadying himself against the wall. Using his semblance had drained him, and Scarlet wouldn’t be flying any more tonight.

“Thanks anyway,” Neptune said, patting his shoulder.

Scarlet looked at him with tired eyes. “I swear, if you don’t – ”

Just then, Jaune’s scroll rang. The blond fumbled to answer it, his fingers slipping in his haste.

“Hello?” A pause. His eyes widened. “Really? Hold on, where are you?” Another pause. Jaune nodded. “Right. We’ll be with you soon; don’t take your eyes off him.”

Neptune’s heart held its breath. “Did they find him?”

Jaune nodded. “He’s by Dust Till Dawn.”

They glanced at Scarlet.

“Go,” Scarlet waved. “I’ll tell the others.”

They nodded and Neptune took off, running. _Please be okay, Sun!_ As they ran, the weather started to clear. The rain started to peter off, and by the time they met up with Ren and Nora, the rain had all but stopped. Ruby and Weiss arrived at almost the same time they did, both girls exasperated.

“So?” Weiss asked. “Where is he?”

“Around that corner,” said Ren. “He isn’t moving very quickly.”

“Oh Dust,” said Neptune. “How badly is he hurt?”

Nora shrugged. “We couldn’t really tell.”

He swore. “I’d better – ”

Neptune froze.

“Oh my Dust,” he cried. “Why the _hell_ are they here!?”

Pyrrha spun round, drawing her blade. “Who is it?”

Sage groaned. “His parents.”

Saturn and Rhea Vasilias stepped out of a restaurant next to the dust shop, his father opening an umbrella. To his terror, they started heading in his direction, although they hadn’t spotted him yet.

Weiss summoned a fire glyph to dry herself off, tossing her hair.

“Leave your parents to me,” she announced, adopting the air of the heiress she was.

“But – ” Neptune stammered.

“I’m a Schnee,” Weiss said confidently. “They’ll adore me.”

He nodded. “Thanks.”

Weiss smiled. “Pyrrha, you come to.”

The redhead blinked. “Who, me?”

Weiss grinned. “You’re famous, and I always say two girls are better than one.”

Weiss dragged a rather startled-looking Pyrrha into the middle of the street when Neptune’s parents weren’t looking, and made a wonderful display of ‘suddenly recognising’ Mr and Mrs Vasilias. For a moment Neptune thought the ruse wouldn’t work, but upon hearing both of their names his parents were captivated. Weiss worked them effortlessly, shepherding them to the side so as to allow Neptune to slip by with his head down, unnoticed. The other four followed them, and once they were safely out of earshot Nora said:

“Both of your parents are really hot. Why is it that rich people are always hot?”

“Money is the second puberty,” Ren replied, but Neptune wasn’t listening, because he could see Sun.

Every little thing that Sun’s body said broke Neptune’s heart. His posture was slumped, his tail dragging behind him miserably, and he was limping, his clothes ripped and bloodied. Sun was a mess.

“Go to him,” said Sage.

“We’ll hold Nora back,” said Ruby.

Neptune swallowed dryly, but there was no time for him to be hesitant because Nora shoved him forwards, causing him to nearly trip. The others ducked round the corner as Sun turned around, startled by the noise.

Their eyes met and Sun’s face flickered from confusion to joy to anger.

“Sun,” was all Neptune could say.

The faunus glared at him, snarling. “Get lost, arsehole.”

Neptune avoided eye contact. “Please, Sun, let me explain – ”

“Save it for someone who cares,” Sun replied, turning sharply.

“Sun, wait!” Neptune started after him, but Sun broke into a run.

Neptune growled in frustration, chasing after him. Sun was usually much faster than him, but the faunus was injured, and Neptune was not. Sun ducked into an alleyway and Neptune followed, yelling after him. Sun ignored him, wincing as he leapt into the air and grabbed on to a drain to pull himself up onto a roof. He slipped, though, and Neptune snorted.

With a flick of his wrist, the water in a nearby puddle surged up and grasped the faunus, pulling him down to the ground and holding him tight. Sun struggled, cursing vehemently, but there was nothing he could do. Glimmering clones burst into existence around him, but they flickered out almost immediately, Sun in no condition to use his semblance.

“Sun,” Neptune repeated.

The faunus looked up at him, pain and fury burning in his eyes. “Let me go,” he hissed.

“Sun, I – ”

“Let me go, you bastard!” Sun yelled, fighting with all his might. It was useless, though.

“I’m not letting you go, Sun,” Neptune said.

Sun fell limp at the tone in his voice, looking away bitterly. They said nothing, tension bristling in the air like electricity.

“I’m sorry,” said Neptune.

“What for?” Sun spat.

“I’m sorry for saying I couldn’t be with you because you’re a faunus,” Neptune replied. “I didn’t mean it.”

Sun squeezed his eyes shut, clenching his fists. His expression was such a hopeless one, such a heartbroken one that Neptune almost lost it.

“I was scared,” said Neptune. “I was scared of what my parents would do if they found out. Of what they’d do to you, and to your family.”

Sun laughed bitterly. “You think that makes it okay? Obviously you care too much about your parents to see past the tail in between my legs.”

“No, Sun, that’s not true!” Neptune cried.

“If that were the case then none of this would have happened now, would it?”

Neptune had to fight to control himself, his body shaking.

Sun snorted. “Just go. I’m a faunus, I’m not worth your – ”

Neptune slapped him, hard.

“For Dust’s sake, Sun, will you stop being so self-centred and _listen!”_

Sun said nothing, too stunned to reply.

“I love you,” said Neptune, hugging the faunus tightly as he let his semblance go, the water splashing down around them.

Sun stared at him, his eyes wide.

“I love you,” Neptune breathed. “Nothing will change that. Not my parents, not random people on the street and certainly not anything you could ever do.” He gently cupped Sun’s face, looking into his beautiful, blue eyes. “Do you understand? I love you, Sun.”

Sun’s body was trembling, his limbs weak.

“Do you really mean that?” he whispered, his voice hoarse from shouting.

“I do,” said Neptune.

Sun collapsed, crying. Neptune held him as he shook, sobbing, and he knew everything was going to be alright.

“I’m sorry I’m such an idiot.” Sun sniffed.

“I’m sorry your such an idiot, too,” Neptune replied.

Sun grinned weakly, laughing. Neptune helped him up slowly, and Sun winced.

“I’m pretty sure I broke my ankle or something,” Sun said.

Neptune grimaced. “Sorry about that.”

Sun waved him off as they started to walk. Well, Neptune walked. Sun hobbled. “It was my fault for jumping to conclusions.”

Neptune looked away guiltily. “Still, I shouldn’t have said it in the first place.”

“Hey,” said Sun gently. “It’s okay.” He held onto Neptune’s hand. “We’re okay.”

Neptune smiled. “Good.”

They walked a couple of steps in a comfortable silence, until Sun suddenly jumped up.

“Dammit, I forgot to say I love you to!” he cried, irritated.

Neptune smirked. “Well, you’ve said it now.”

The faunus blushed furiously. “I didn’t mean to.”

“So you don’t love me?”

“No, I do!”

“Honestly, sun, you’re so capricious.”

“I don’t even know what that means, you nerd.”

“It means you’re an idiot.”

“Well you’re the idiot in love with this idiot.”

“Touché.”

“Sun!” Nora screamed.

“Hey, guys,” Sun greeted. He blinked. “Were you all looking for me?”

“Of course we were,” said Sage. He grinned, his eyes sparkling, and hugged both of them, lifting them off the ground.

“You two are _so_ much trouble,” Ruby complained, smiling wryly.

“You’re one to talk,” Jaune muttered.

“Where’s everyone else?” Sun asked.

“Blake, Yang and Scarlet are back at Beacon, and your parents went back to the hotel when we told them we found you,” said Jaune. “Your Mum sounded like she wanted to have a word with you about running away, by the way.”

Sun pulled a face. “Right. Where are Weiss and Pyrrha, though?”

Sage grimaced. “They’re – ”

“Neptune?” called a voice.

Neptune groaned. He turned around to be met by his very confused-looking parents, followed by Weiss and Pyrrha, who sheepishly waved at them.

His father frowned, turning his nose. “Who’s this?” he asked.

Sun blinked.

“This is my boyfriend, Sun Wukong,” said Neptune, staring his father directly in the eye.

His mother gasped in surprise. “Boyfriend…?”

And that’s when they saw Sun’s tail. Rhea grasped her husband’s arm in shock, covering her mouth. Sun grinned.

Saturn stayed very, very silent.

Then:

“You disgust me,” his father said.

Neptune smiled. “Rest assured, the feeling’s mutual.”

His father stormed off without another word.

“Wait!” his mother cried, glancing from her husband to her son with tears in her eyes.

“Just go, mother,” Neptune said softly.

Rhea stood locked in indecision, then nodded. “I’ll talk to him,” she said, leaving. It was a brave gesture, but Neptune knew that there would be no talking to his father.

Everyone stood in silence, not daring to say anything. Oddly enough, Neptune felt… calm. He knew that it was more than likely that this was the last time he’d see his father, but… it was okay. If it was for Sun, it was okay. Wasn’t it?

Ruby coughed. “Well I thought you handled that really well!”

Weiss cuffed her.

“She’s right, you were totally badass,” Sun said, nuzzling him.

Sage shook his head. “As first impressions go, that probably wasn’t the best one, though.”

“It doesn’t help that you’re filthy, covered in blood and limping,” said Jaune.

“And hungry,” Sun added.

Neptune sighed. “Let’s head back home, then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! So how did that go? Your feedback would be greatly appreciated!


	20. All These Feelings

Once again, the nurse was not impressed.

“And just how high was the building you fell off?” he asked.

Sun shrugged. “Like… a couple of metres…”

The nurse tutted impatiently, and Sun winced as the man stitched his cuts, his ankle already splinted. When they'd got back to Beacon, he’d tried to make a dash for the cafeteria, but Sage wasn’t having any of it. It was straight to the medical room, and _then_ Sage would bring him food. Sun had tried to protest, but Sage had threatened to use his semblance and Sun had no choice but to give in.

The nurse finished off, shaking his head. “Honestly, how stupid can you be to fall off a building only a week after you’re attacked by a kraken?”

“I get the point,” Sun muttered.

“Mind you, the more people get hurt, the more I get paid, so whatever you’re doing, keep at it.”

Sun frowned. “Excuse me?”

The nurse grinned, his expression hidden behind the tint of his glasses. “Oh, don’t mind me. I’m just an underpaid, overworked doctor.”

“Right…” Sun shuffled uncomfortably.

Just then, the door to the medical room opened.

“Sun!” said a voice, surprised.

He looked up. “Hey Velvet, Coco.”

The rabbit faunus was smiling happily while Coco clutched her hand, her wrist red and swollen.

“What happened?” Sun asked.

“I had an accident with my weapon,” Coco replied. “Recoil and all of that.”

“Ah.”

“What about you?” Velvet asked, sitting down next to him. “Neptune’s waiting outside for you, you know.”

Sun sat up. “He is?”

Velvet nodded. “He’s been there for a while, now.”

Sun smiled stupidly.

Coco smirked. “Well, I think it’s cute.”

“Not as cute as him falling off a building,” the nurse said dryly.

“You _what!?”_ Velvet gasped.

Sun scratched his head. “Yeah, it kind of… happened…”

“Is that why everyone was out looking for you today?” Coco asked.

Sun stared into his lap. “I guess…”

His stomach growled.

“You didn’t see Sage on your way here, did you?” Sun asked.

Velvet blinked. “No, just Neptune.”

“Dammit, Sage,” Sun mumbled. “You were supposed to feed me.”

“You’re free to go, you know,” the nurse said. “Just don’t come back too soon.”

Sun’s stomach breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks.”

Velvet waved. “See you around.”

“Yeah.”

Neptune was indeed waiting for him outside, leaning against the wall anxiously. His clothes were still damp, and his hair was plastered to his head, his goggles hanging around his neck. Neptune smiled in relief when he saw Sun, hugging him.

“Hey,” said Sun.

“Hey,” said Neptune.

Sun buried his face in the crook of Neptune’s neck, breathing in his scent.

“You don’t happen to have any food on you?” he asked.

Neptune laughed, and Sun could feel his chest rolling.

“No, unfortunately not.”

Sun growled. “Where the hell did Sage get to?”

Neptune shrugged. “Shall we go and find out?”

Sun nodded.

***

Sun collapsed on his bed almost as soon as they got to the dorm, falling face first into the mattress.

Neptune snorted. “Tired?”

The faunus groaned, rolling off the mattress and onto the floor, but sticking his splinted foot up so that he ended up looking as if he were doing a weird dance. Sun glared at his ankle, pissed off at his own stupidity.

“I need to clean my teeth,” he said.

“Well hurry up, then, because I still need to shower,” Neptune replied.

Sun smirked mischievously. “It’s okay, you can have your shower. I’ll just watch.”

Neptune’s face went as red as his jacket. “Sun, please, not until the third date.”

The faunus snorted, picking himself up. “Well then hurry up and take me on a second one.”

Neptune tried to think of a comeback, but his mind tripped over itself and he just stood there.

Sun grinned as he ducked into the bathroom. “You know you love me really.”

“Yeah.”

Neptune sat down to collect himself. In the space of twenty-four hours, he’d nearly broken his relationship with Sun, and then subsequently put it back together, possibly stronger than before. Maybe. At least Sun was back to flirting. That was a good sign, right?

His boyfriend stuck his head out the bathroom. “I’m done.”

“Okay.”

Sun hobbled back over to his bed, falling back into it. The faunus was now shirtless, and when Neptune saw the network of bruises and stitches across Sun’s skin he had to bite his lip not to cry.

That was his fault.

With three words, he’d done all that, and although he knew they were fine he also knew there would always be that doubt, that fear lingering in the back of Sun’s mind. Neptune showered quickly, images of a heartbroken Sun and his father’s disgust swimming round in his head. He dried himself off, sneezing, and stared at his reflection in the mirror.

His hair was long, longer than it used to be. It was high time he cut it, and his roots were beginning to show, the black just beginning to bleed through the blue. Would he dye his hair again? He’d only started doing it because fourteen-year-old Neptune had wanted to copy his father, anyway. His eyes were saying two different things. They were happy, happier than he’d ever been before, yet they were also filled with a sadness.

His parents.

He’d been kidding himself when he thought he didn’t care. Of course Neptune cared – they were his parents.

Yet there was nothing he could do.

Neptune slipped on his pyjamas and switched off the light, going straight to bed. Scarlet was off drinking with Yang and Nora, to ‘replenish his aura’, and Sage had decided to ‘give them some time’. Time for what, Neptune wasn’t sure he’d wanted to know.

Neptune had just closed his eyes, when Sun coughed.

Neptune squinted. “Sun?”

“Why are you over there?” the faunus complained.

Neptune frowned. “It’s my bed.”

A pause. “My bed’s comfier, you know.”

Sun’s voice was softer, more hesitant. Neptune frowned, getting up.

“We’ve slept together plenty of times before, you know,” he said, getting in next to Sun. “There’s no need to sound so scared.”

“Sorry,” said Sun, shuffling over. He turned around and after a bit of hit and miss they managed to get into a comfortable position, this time Neptune the one holding Sun.

“Good night,” said Neptune.

“Night.”

A long pause.

“Neptune?”

“Yeah?”

Sun swallowed. “I’m a faunus.”

“Sun, I – ”

“No, I know,” Sun said quickly. “But… I’m a faunus. I know that that’s going to make things difficult, and… you don’t have to pretend that you wouldn’t rather I was human. It’s okay, that’s just how it is.”

Neptune went still.

Sun frowned, looking over his shoulder. “Nep?”

A strangled sob. “Please don’t say that, Sun.”

“Neptune…”

“I didn’t mean it,” Neptune said, hiding his face in Sun’s hair. “I didn’t mean it.”

“I’m not angry, Nep,” Sun said quietly. “That’s just how the world is.”

“No!” Neptune cried. “That’s not how I want my world to be.” Neptune grabbed Sun’s tail, wrapping it around his hand. “I love _you_ , Sun, and you’re a faunus. If you were anything else you wouldn’t be Sun.” Neptune kissed Sun’s tail tenderly, and the faunus shivered, a small breath escaping his lips. “I love your tail, Sun, just like I love every other part of you.”

Sun turned around to face him, and tears were staining his smooth skin, falling onto the covers.

“I love you too,” Sun whispered.

Neptune pressed their foreheads together.

“I know.”

Sun grinned, running a hand through Neptune’s hair.

“Your roots are showing,” he teased.

Neptune swallowed. “Yeah, about that…” He breathed. “I was thinking… maybe I won’t dye my hair again.”

Sun frowned. “Why not?”

“It… well, it reminds me of my father, actually.”

Sun shook his head softly. “Don’t let him ruin your life, Nep. If you want to dye your hair, then do it. Don’t let him stop you.” He smirked. “Plus, I think blue hair looks sexy as hell.”

Neptune looked away.

“But black hair’s cool, too!” Sun said quickly. “Anything’s cool, really.”

Neptune chuckled quietly. “I don’t know why I care so much about what my father said.”

“Because he’s your father,” Sun replied. “No matter how shitty he is, he’s still your father.”

Neptune was silent, memories swirling in his head.

“They’re the only family I have left.”

Sun pulled Neptune’s head into his chest, wrapping his arms around him.

“You have me,” Sun said softly. “You have Sage, Scarlet, teams RWBY and JNPR and even my family. I know we can be a handful, but we can be your handful, too, if you’d like.”

Neptune blinked back tears. “I’d like that very much.”

Sun kissed his forehead. “Then there you go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this far! Once again, comments and kudos are always lovely!


	21. Mesmerising

They sat on the couch awkwardly, Sun’s tail in Neptune’s hand. Neptune coughed.

“So is Neptune your girlfriend?” Mara asked.

“No, you cheeky monkey, he’s my boyfriend!” Sun cried.

“Then does that mean you’re his girlfriend?” Cuja giggled.

“Sun’s a girl!” Mara teased.

“Sun would make an awful girl,” Yaya muttered.

“Guys, please,” Sun said. “This is bullying.”

Cuja climbed on Neptune’s head. “Then is Neptune our new big brother?” he asked, tugging on his goggles. “Can I try on your goggles?”

Neptune winced. “I guess…”

Sun’s brother didn’t wait for permission, though, stealing the goggles and tossing them to Mara.

Sun groaned. “I’m so sorry you have to put up with my brothers,” he apologised.

Neptune smiled. “No, it’s fine.”

Jin shook his head, exasperated. “You’re never getting those back.”

Neptune blinked.

Huang sighed for what was probably the third time this minute. “I can’t believe you fell off a building,” she said. “If you weren’t injured I’d slap you so hard right now.”

“You had us all worried,” said Jin.

Sun looked down sheepishly. “Sorry.”

Neptune bowed his head. “I’m sorry, too.”

Sun’s parents met each other’s eyes and smiled.

“For future reference, if you just talk to each other you can avoid all of this trouble,” Huang said.

“Duly noted,” said Sun.

Jin sat up. “As responsible parents, there are a few things we’d like to say.”

“Oh no,” said Sun.

“Neptune,” Jin started. “If you _ever_ say something to hurt Sun like that again, I will know.”

Neptune gulped. “Yes, sir.”

“Sun, if you ever run away again, I will also know.”

“Right.”

“Also, use protection,” said Huang. “I know you’re both guys, but it’s still better to be safe than sorry.”

Sun died inside a little. “Mum…”

She shrugged innocently. “What? I know what young love is like. Where do you think _you_ came from?”

Sun blushed. “Mum! You can’t say things like that!”

His mother smirked. Jin laughed.

“But seriously,” his mother said. “Take care of each other.”

Neptune squeezed Sun’s tail. “We will.”

***

Darkness enveloped the room, light from underneath the door bleeding through to create dancing shadows and looming silhouettes, trapped within a cage of four walls. There were three figures in the room, all of them still. One leant against the far wall nonchalantly, their arms crossed. The other stood so that the shaft of light from the door illuminated her mouth but not her eyes, and she stood tall, looming above the third figure that knelt at her feet, his head bowed.

The bells from the tower rang out, echoing through the darkness, and the woman nodded.

“You are ready,” she announced.

Neptune grimaced. “I kind of wanted to hear that from Jaune.”

Nora pouted. “What’s that supposed to mean!?”

The blue-haired boy winced. “It’s just that he’s the one that’s been teaching me, you know?”

“Yeah, you can just about dance,” Jaune acknowledged.

Neptune’s eyes narrowed. “Good.”

Jaune smirked. “I’m still the best, though.”

Nora started. “Actually – ”

Ren opened the door and Nora hissed, shielding her eyes. He switched on the lights.

“Why were you in the dark?” He frowned.

Neptune scratched the back of his head. “It’s a long story…”

***

Three days later, the nurse finally let Sun take off the splint. He flexed his ankle, rolling it in larger and larger circles. So far so good… Gingerly, he put pressure on it. There was no pain. Sun put a bit more pressure on it. Nothing. Sun jumped, then lashed out with a roundhouse. Yep, his ankle was fine!

Neptune snorted. “You’re a lucky one, aren’t you? Without the healing properties of dust, you’d have been screwed.”

“Thank Dust for dust, then!” Sun grinned, jabbing the air.

Neptune held up his hands in mock surrender. “Whoa there, take it easy, huntsman.”

Sun stuck his tongue out. “I like it hard.”

Neptune ignored him.

“Are you doing anything this evening?” he asked casually.

“No, I don’t think so.” Sun frowned. “Not today. Why?”

“Fancy going on another date?”

“Sure!” Sun beamed. “Where to?”

“Leave that to me,” Neptune said mysteriously. “Just be ready by six.”

“Do I have to dress up?” Sun asked.

Neptune laughed. “No, not at all.”

Sun nodded. “Good.”

***

 

“This is a club, Nep,” said Sun.

“I know.”

The faunus scratched his head. “Are you sure you’re not lost?”

“I don’t recall asking for all this sass,” Neptune replied, glancing at him sideways.

“Sorry.”

Neptune grinned, grabbing Sun’s hand. “Come on.”

Sun shrugged, following Neptune’s lead. The club was busy, and everything was pulsing. The lights, the beat, the bodies… _everything_ was moving, and Sun loved it instantly. The place had an atmosphere, a liveliness, and Sun suspected quite a bit of that was down to alcohol, which was always a plus.

“Want a drink?” Neptune asked.

Sun struggled to hear him above the noise, squeezing past a group of girls to join him by the bar.

“I said do you want a drink?” Neptune repeated.

“Yeah, um…” Sun remembered their first date. “Actually, no, I’m alright.”

Neptune raised his eyebrow, but said nothing, ordering a cocktail for himself. Lit by the strobing beams from the dancefloor, Neptune’s profile was perfectly highlighted, his shirt loose and unbuttoned at the top and his jeans devilishly tight. As Neptune drank Sun’s eyes latched onto the way his lips moved and the way his throat lurched, drinking the sight in hungrily. To his surprise, Neptune downed the cocktail in one, and set the empty glass down.

“So, are you going to stare at me all evening, or would you like to dance?” he asked, smirking.

“Oh, so that’s why you downed that drink!”

Neptune pouted. “Stop teasing me.”

“It’s what I do best.” Sun grinned. “I’d love to dance, by the way.”

Neptune extended his hand. “Wonderful.”

Sun took Neptune’s hand. “Marvellous.”

“Brilliant.”

“Fantastic.”

“Sublime.”

“Magnanimous.”

“That doesn’t mean what you think it means, Sun.”

“Dammit.”

Neptune lead him out into the middle of the dancefloor and placed his hands on his hips.

“You ready?” he asked.

“Only if you are,” Sun teased. “Are you sure you don’t want me to tell you what to do?”

Neptune ignored him and started swaying smoothly, and Sun placed his hands on Neptune’s shoulders, following along.

Sun whistled. “Wow, Nep, you’re actually keeping in time!”

Neptune shrugged. “It’s not that difficult once you get the hang of it.”

They spun around, picking up the pace, and Sun grinned. “So who taught you?”

“What?” Neptune laughed nervously. “No one taught me. I’m just this awesome.”

“Boy, I was with you when you had that break down at prom in high school,” the faunus said. “You can’t dance.”

The blue-haired boy gave in. “Okay, Jaune taught me.”

Sun leaned in, whispering in Neptune’s ear: “Well he did a good job.”

Neptune smiled just as the song changed. “That he did.”

They broke apart and Neptune flicked his hair.

“I recognise this song,” said Sun.

“So do I,” Neptune replied, winking.

They waited a moment, and when the drop came they both started moving simultaneously, letting the music take over. Sun just watched Neptune, entranced. Before Jaune, Neptune had moved like a fish out of water, flailing frantically and not sure of what to do. After Jaune, Neptune was mesmerising. His body flowed like water, pumping with the beat, and Sun could see the energy flooding through his veins. Neptune’s smooth skin was covered in a sheen of sweat, and whenever Sun caught a waft of his boyfriend’s scent his body throbbed hungrily.

They danced circles around each other, the heat of their bodies burning, and golden sparks met bursts of water, flying. They caught each other with their eyes, and Sun was lost in Neptune’s blue, completely and utterly hypnotised.

The music twirled between them, and Sun opened his mouth before he knew what he was saying: “Wow.”

Neptune smirked. “Fantastic, baby.”

Their lips met, and Sun was complete. Neptune tasted of sweat and alcohol, his lips a little dry, but to Sun it was perfect. They pulled apart to breathe but were already kissing, again and again and again. Neptune was gentle, careful, but once the faunus fully realised what was happening his instincts took over and Sun bit Neptune’s lip, pulling him in thirstily. He wrapped his tail around his boyfriend’s waist and pulled their bodies together, attacking Neptune’s tongue with his own.

The pulled apart, gasping for breath.

Sun licked his lips. “We should totally do that again.”

Neptune nodded dumbly. “Agreed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah! I just had to make a kpop reference - several, in fact. I wonder how many of them you can find. On second thought, perhaps I went a bit overboard...


	22. Impress Me

“Three days ago, it was supposed to lightly rain,” Glynda started.

Neptune shuffled uncomfortably. “Yes…”

“Instead, we had what could easily have been called a monsoon,” said Glynda. “Strangely enough, though, it stopped quite suddenly – in a matter of minutes.”

“The weather’s crazy, right?”

“Not as crazy as eleven of our first-year students running around the city to find a twelfth student, who just so happened to have fallen off a three-storey flat,” the professor deadpanned.

Neptune blanched. “Ah.”

Glynda sighed, exasperated. “Please just tell me you and Sun have it figured out.”

He smiled. “Yeah, we have.”

“Good.”

“Back to the rain, you’d asked me about what your father said regarding your hereditary semblance, didn’t you?”

Neptune grimaced. “Oh yeah.”

Glynda shuffled some papers on her desk. “The atmosphere can be up to four percent water, so it is more than likely that your ability allows you some degree of control over the weather,” she said. “It is probable that your manipulation of the water vapour in the atmosphere can lead to thunderstorms and other such occurrences, but please do try to remember that even if you can cause lightning, you cannot control it.”

Neptune nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Skill is in the smallest of miracles,” the professor explained. “A tidal wave looks scary, but it requires no control. Power is important, but skill is just as essential. You’ve come a long way, Neptune.” She sat back, peering at him over the top of her glasses. “I shall ask you one last task, and if you pass this you’re free to compete in the Vytal Festival.”

Neptune swallowed nervously.

Glynda smiled. “Impress me.”

Neptune blinked. “What?”

She shrugged. “Impress me.”

Usually, Glynda asked something with room for improvisation. This, however, was improvisation with a question on the end, and the blue-haired boy was thrown off balance. He quickly recovered, though, an idea beginning to form in his mind.

“Am I allowed time to prepare?” he asked.

The professor frowned. “I suppose so.”

Neptune stood up, grinning. “Please be by the fountain in an hour, then.”

***

“Why are we here again?” asked Scarlet.

“I told you, it’s a surprise,” said Neptune, checking his watch.

“He’s got his final assignment from Goodwitch,” Sun explained. “Apparently he has to do something to impress her.”

Everyone stepped away from the fountain suspiciously, except for Nora, who leaned in.

She laughed hysterically. “You should summon water monsters that we have to fight!”

“Nora, no,” said Ren.

“Water monsters would be impressive, though,” said Ruby. “That is, if you can actually summon them, and not just an arm like Weiss…”

Weiss glared at her, and Ruby shut up.

“Whatever it is, I’m sure you’ll do fine,” said Pyrrha, smiling reassuringly. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

Scarlet coughed loudly.

“Ignore him,” said Sage.

A couple of minutes later, Glynda appeared, followed by Ozpin. Roxo was still investigating the White Fang, unfortunately, so she couldn’t be here to see him.

“I see you’ve gathered quite a crowd!” said the headmaster amicably. Indeed, quite a lot of students had gathered in the courtyard, eager to see what was going on.

“What can I say?” Neptune shrugged. “I’m an artist.”

“It’ll be so embarrassing if nothing happens,” Blake muttered. They all looked at her. “Sorry.”

“Well, Neptune?” Glynda prompted. “Show me your art.”

Neptune bowed. “With pleasure.”

He grinned, snapping his fingers, and they were all startled by a clap of thunder. Sun jumped just as the rain started to fall, a curtain of water collapsing from the sky.

“Bloody hell, not _again_ , Neptune!” Scarlet cried, hiding behind Sage.

“Don’t worry.” Neptune smirked. “It’s cool.”

Before the raindrops could hit them, the blue-haired boy spread his arms wide, his eyes glowing a brilliant indigo.

Around them, the raindrops stopped, hanging in the air. They were perfectly still, and Neptune grinned as his friends marvelled at them, running their hands through the silent rain.

“This is incredible!” Ozpin admired, shielding his eyes as he gazed up at the sky.

“That’s not all,” said Neptune.

He flicked his hands and each raindrop froze, swirling around them. Neptune moved his arms and the hail moved with him, spiralling into the sky until they were shifting and undulating in glorious patterns, like a thousand stars falling to the earth. He brought his hands together and the hailstones collided, the sunlight throwing a myriad of rainbows all over the spectators bellow. The rain was liquid again, and Neptune ran it into a vortex whirling above their heads. He gestured and the water burst apart in a shower of spray, separating into dozens of smaller bubbles. These bubbles took on the form of a troop of monkeys, dashing through the sky and climbing through the air until Neptune made them evaporate, steam dancing into the wind.

Everybody just stood there, gobsmacked.

Glynda blinked. “That was – ”

Sun kissed Neptune, pulling him in fiercely.

Someone whistled.

They broke apart, Neptune blushing.

“That was beautiful,” said Sun.

“Yes,” Glynda agreed. “It was.”

Neptune’s eyes widened, breathless.

“Does that mean I pass?”

Ozpin smiled wryly. “It would be a crime not to let you participate in the Vytal tournament.”

Sun punched the air. “Yes! Team SSSN are back in action!”

“I wouldn’t get so confident just yet,” said Ruby. “If we face off against you, we won’t hold back.”

“Neither will we,” Jaune added, grinning.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less,” said Neptune.

***

Neptune’s mother was waiting for him, sitting underneath the shade of a parasol with a glass of lemonade untouched.

“Good afternoon, mother,” he said, sitting down across from her.

“Good afternoon, Neptune,” she replied. “Have you had a good day?”

“Yes, actually,” Neptune said. “I just finished my training with Professor Goodwitch.”

Rhea smiled politely. “That’s lovely.”

They sat in strained silence, both of their body languages tense.

“I’m sorry to call you out here so suddenly, but there are a couple of matters which we need to discuss,” his mother said.

Neptune clenched his fist under the table. “Of course.”

Rhea sighed. “Your father’s very angry with you.”

“I can’t imagine why.”

“Neptune, this is serious.”

“I know it is,” he replied.

“You’re the heir to the Olympus Corporation, Neptune,” his mother started.

Neptune grit his teeth. “I’m sure father can change that if he wants.”

“It’s a family business, Neptune. You know that! You’re our only child, now that…”

“Now that Ceres is dead,” he finished. “If my choice of partner pisses you off so much, why don’t you just have another child?”

His mother gasped. “Neptune!”

He looked down guiltily. “Sorry. I spoke out of line.”

Rhea clutched her glass, trembling slightly. “I know it’s been difficult for you since your sister died, but it’s been difficult for us, too.”

Neptune said nothing.

“You’ve got a responsibility to uphold, and that responsibility involves… not playing around.”

Neptune looked up sharply. “Mother…”

“Are you sure it’s not just a phase?” his mother asked. “You’re young, and all of these hormones can affect you in strange ways…”

Neptune shook his head incredulously. “I cannot believe you just said that!”

Rhea grit her teeth. “I am trying to be civil, here.”

Neptune snorted. “Yeah, thanks for that.”

“Honey, we only want what’s best for you. He’s a faunus. Do you know what people will say?”

“Yes, because you’re saying it!” he cried.

Rhea started. “Neptune, please, you don’t know them like we do…”

“No, I’m not listening to you,” he said, standing up. “I love him, mother.”

“He’ll just get bored of you and find someone else,” Rhea warned. “It’s what they do.”

“Who, faunus or homosexuals?”

“I – ”

Neptune cut her off. “It’s too late, mother.” He turned around, but gave one glance back. “Goodbye.”

“Neptune…” His mother reached out, her voice wavering, but she stopped.

Neptune left.

It was only as he walked that the tears came, stinging, but he rubbed them away angrily.

Sun dropped down next to him, his expression concerned. “I guess it didn’t go well, huh?”

Neptune leaned into him, grabbing the faunus’ tail for comfort. Sun put an arm around him gently, rubbing circles into his shoulder.

“You can cry,” said Sun. “I’m here. No one will see you.”

Neptune sniffed, burying his face into Sun’s chest. “Thanks.”

Sun smiled sadly. “It’s okay,” he whispered. “You’ll be okay.”

Neptune closed his eyes. “You won’t leave me, will you?”

Sun kissed the crown of his head. “Never.”

Neptune sighed. “Good.”

***

Sun pushed him against the bookcase and he hissed, the faunus growling. Neptune latched onto his lips and they continued to make out, Sun rolling his hips downright sinfully…

“Once again, this is a _library,”_ Sage growled.

Sun pouted, flicking his tail. “Mind your own business.”

“It’s kind of hard to, when you’re attacking each other with your tongues two feet away from us,” Scarlet deadpanned.

“He’s right, babe, this really isn’t the place,” Neptune said, carefully peeling Sun off of him.

Sun snorted, sitting down grumpily. “You’re the one who kept teasing me, you bastard.”

Neptune smirked.

“Guys, we can all hear you,” said Blake from the other table.

Yang giggled. “We can all see you, too.”

Sun grinned. “Did you enjoy the show?”

“Please, I do not want to know about Sun’s exhibitionist streak,” Jaune complained.

“Seeing it’s much better,” the faunus replied, wriggling his eyebrows.

“For goodness’ sake, would you all _be quiet!”_ Sage cried.

Sun bit his lip to stop himself from laughing. “Sorry.”

Sage shook his head, tutting.

Just then, they were interrupted by Professor Ozpin, accompanied by Glynda and General Ironwood.

Sun coughed.

“Mr Vasilias, you’ll want to come with us, please,” said Ironwood.

Neptune blinked. “Excuse me?”

“Has something happened?” asked Sage.

“Well…” Ironwood trailed off, glancing to his friends. “It’s of a personal nature.”

Neptune grit his teeth, his heart sinking. “It’s okay, you can tell them.”

Ozpin stepped forwards, taking off his glasses. “I’m afraid your father’s been kidnapped by the White Fang.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha! Just when you thought the drama was over! As always, comments and kudos are really encouraging! :)


	23. Shattered Glass

Neptune’s eyes widened.

Blake shot up, knocking her chair over. “What!?”

“They’re demanding a ransom of fifty billion lien,” Ironwood filled in gravely. “It appears he was taken from the hotel they were staying in.”

Neptune swallowed dryly. “My mother?”

“Luckily, she was out when your father was kidnapped.”

Neptune breathed, his head spinning.

“How is she?” he asked.

“Distressed,” the general replied. “She asked for you.”

Neptune hesitated, then nodded. “I’ll go.”

Ironwood nodded. Sun grasped Neptune’s hand anxiously.

Neptune smiled weakly. “I’ll be fine.”

He wasn’t fine, of course. There was little talk as the general drove him to the hotel, the air heavy, and his mind was like a car that had crashed, caught on fire and was now tumbling down a hill, spinning and spinning and spinning… Neptune didn’t know what he should be feeling. His parents had been horrible to him, his father especially, and yet… His father was in very real danger. The White Fang… They were more than prepared to kill him – to actually _kill_ his father.

Another family member – dead.

The hotel was cordoned off by yellow tape, Atlesian soldiers standing a monochrome vigil around it. General Ironwood was let through without a problem, and they went inside, Neptune dreading what he would find.

Neptune didn’t know whether he was happy or not that Saturn had put up a fight. The lobby’s most striking feature had been a crystal chandelier that hung from the ceiling, a magnificent crown sparkling above their heads. That chandelier lay dead now, shards of glass spilled across the floor as if fleeing from the twisted metal framework. Furniture was torn apart and bullet holes riddled the walls, the scene glaringly real under the white light of electric lamps.

Neptune’s breath hitched as he saw a flash of red – a splatter of blood, the only splash of colour amidst an otherwise colourless crime scene.

“They cornered your father just as he was coming down the stairs,” said Ironwood. “As you can see, they gambled with a lot more than they expected, but they overpowered him in the end.”

Neptune swallowed. “The blood?”

Ironwood shook his head. “It’s not his. One of the hotel’s security staff was shot trying to rescue him.”

“Were they killed?”

Ironwood gestured to the corner, where several men were being treated by paramedics. “Luckily, none of the wounds were fatal.”

Neptune nodded, relieved. “And my mother?”

“She’s in the tearoom,” he replied, signalling the way. “Apparently, she was out shopping when the attack happened.”

Neptune clenched his fists. “I see.”

“It is my understanding that you’ve recently had a… disagreement with your parents,” the general phrased carefully.

Neptune breathed in deeply. “My parents… didn’t approve of my boyfriend being a faunus.”

Ironwood nodded gravely. “I’m sorry to ask this, but do you know if Sun has any connections to the White Fang?”

Neptune stepped back in disbelief. “No, of course not!” he cried.

The general smiled. “As I thought. Ozpin vouched for him himself, so I don’t think there’s any more need to pursue down that avenue. I had to ask, though, as part of standard procedure.”

Neptune glanced sideways at the general, offended on Sun’s behalf. They reached the tearoom, however, and Neptune stopped when he saw his mother. His emotions were storming inside him, spurts of pain and anger and regret all burning at once. Just the other day his mother had said such disgusting things to him, and yet here she was – distraught. Rhea was devastated, all composure kidnapped with her husband. Her hair was dishevelled, her makeup smeared and her face stained by tears, her eyes red and broken. She stared into a teacup, shaking, and every so often she would drop a sugar cube into the tea, swirling it in but never drinking.

General Ironwood stood back as Neptune stepped forwards, treading softly until he was standing beside her.

“Mother,” he said.

Rhea looked up, startled. She realised who it was, and her lips trembled, her eyes clouding with tears.

“Neptune,” she whispered.

His mother hugged him, sobbing.

“I’m sorry,” she cried. “I’m so, so sorry. Please, you can’t go, I can’t lose you, too…”

“It’s okay, Mum,” Neptune said, struggling to keep himself from crying. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Rhea cried and Neptune held her tenderly, tracing circles into his mother’s back like she used to do to him as a child.

Eventually her tears dried out and she wiped her eyes.

“What are we going to do, Neptune?” Rhea asked, her voice barely audible. “Your father…”

“Can’t you pay the ransom?” said Neptune hesitantly.

Rhea shook her head. “We don’t have the money,” she replied, her voice wavering. “If we did pay it, the company would go bankrupt, and most of our workers would lose their jobs…”

“It’s okay,” Neptune said quickly. “We’ll think of something.”

She looked up. “But what if we can’t!?”

“We will,” he said reassuringly.

Rhea turned away, clenching her eyes shut and biting her lip.

Neptune cleared his throat. “General Ironwood would like you to stay at Beacon for the time being,” he said. “It’s safer for you there.”

His mother hesitated, then nodded. She stood up, taking his hand.

“Do you need anything?” he asked.

She shook her head. “No, the porters can bring my luggage.”

“Right.”

General Ironwood escorted them as they left.

“We will do everything within our power to get your husband back safely to you,” he reassured her, his eyes narrow.

Rhea nodded.

***

Once they arrived at Beacon, Ozpin and Glynda welcomed his mother and showed her to where she’d be staying while at the same time keeping an eye on her to make sure she was alright.

“We’ll keep you informed of any developments,” Ironwood told him, heading off to the tower.

Neptune nodded, but before he could find his friends, he was interrupted by a familiar purple-haired figure.

“Neptune!” Roxo cried, running over. The huntress was covered in scrapes and breathing heavily, her fans by her side with purple dust leaking from them.

“Roxo!” Neptune said. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m sorry,” the huntress apologised once she’d caught her breath. Her expression was a pained one, filled with regret. “It’s my fault your father was kidnapped. I was able to prevent the White Fang from stealing any more train carts, but it only occurred to me that they might go after your father when it was too late.”

Neptune shook his head. “It wasn’t your fault. There’s nothing you could have done.”

“I should have seen it coming,” she hissed, gritting her teeth.

“Worrying about what we should and shouldn’t have done won’t save my father,” said Neptune.

Roxo sighed. “You’re right, I guess.” Her eyes widened as if she forgot to say something. “Oh! Where’s General Ironwood, I need to find him immediately.”

Neptune frowned. “He went into the tower. Why?”

“While I was on the mission I located the White Fang’s hideout.” Roxo grinned. “Don’t worry, we’ll have your father safely back to you in no time!”

The huntress ran off with her urgent news, and Neptune blinked in surprise. They knew where his father was! Now if only he could –

“Neptune!” yelled Sun, running. Behind him were Sage and Scarlet, along with teams RWBY and JNPR.

“Is your mother okay?” Sage asked.

“Yeah, she’s fine,” Neptune replied. “She’s staying at Beacon for the time being.”

He looked relieved. “Good.”

Blake rubbed her arm. “Are they sure it’s the White Fang that did this?” she asked.

Neptune nodded.

Blake and Sun exchanged glances.

“What’s going to happen now?” Yang asked.

“Roxo located their hideout,” Neptune replied. “Apart from that, I don’t know.”

“Um…” said Sun.

“Sun and I have come to a decision,” said Blake.

“All of us came to the decision, actually,” Weiss corrected.

Sun’s eyes narrowed. “We’d like to help rescue your father.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end is fast approaching! I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, yet...


	24. The Plan

“No,” said Goodwitch. “Absolutely not. It’s too dangerous.”

“Wait, listen!” cried Sun.

Goodwitch raised her eyebrow.

“None of you know the White Fang like I do,” Blake explained. “Plus, Sun and I are faunus. We’ve a much greater chance of infiltrating their ranks than any of you do.”

“They have a point,” said Ironwood, turning to Goodwitch.

“They’re just students!” Glynda protested, exasperated.

“Students who are training to become huntsmen and huntresses,” Roxo pointed out.

Goodwitch placed her hands on her hips incredulously. “Ozpin, you can’t allow this! It’s completely against regulation!”

“Ordinarily, I’d agree with you, Glynda,” the headmaster said, taking a sip of coffee. “However, all of you are missing the most important thing here.”

Ozpin walked over to the map of Vale, and pointed to where Roxo had said the White Fang’s hideout was, an abandoned dock in the north of Forever Fall.

“It’s right next to the ocean,” said Ozpin, looking directly at Neptune.

Neptune’s eyes narrowed.

Glynda muttered something under her breath, shaking her head.

“Look, we don’t even know Mr Vasilias is being held there yet,” said Roxo. “Why don’t we wait for the drone to send its images before deciding anything?”

Ironwood drummed his fingers impatiently, glaring at the computer screen as if that would make the drone fly any faster. They only had to wait a couple of minutes, however, as the satellite feed soon became live and the dock flickered into view.

It took a few seconds for the grainy pixels to resolve into a recognisable image, but when they did, Blake gasped. The dock should have been empty, and at first it certainly looked so, until you noticed that those tyre marks looked a little too new, and those crates looked a little too full. The most obvious sign that this was the place was the stolen train carts lined up at one end of the dock, where the railway tracks that had been planned to connect it to the rest of Vale had been started but never finished.

“Can we look inside the buildings?” Ozpin asked.

Ironwood said something into his com and the drone flew closer, carefully trying to edge its way down to the windows. Well before it got in range, however, an alarm sounded, and large, silver canons burst from the ground where they’d been hidden. They glowed yellow with dust, and all of a sudden lightning filled the camera before the feed was cut.

They all jumped, and a stunned silence filled the room.

“Well then,” said Roxo. “Aren’t I glad I didn’t get too close?”

Glynda growled in frustration. “It’s over, now. They know we’re on to them, and they’ll be gone within hours.”

“Not necessarily,” said Ironwood. “Those canons were automatic, so they might not have been able to identify our drone.”

“Even so, we won’t be able to make it in there,” said Neptune, frustrated. “As soon as we get close, we’re ash.”

“They’ll have a supply route in and out,” said Blake, leaning in. General Ironwood scrolled back through the video, and Blake studied the docks carefully. “There.” She pointed to a track obscured by the train carts, barely visible. “If we can sneak onto one of their supply trucks, Sun and I can get in.”

Ironwood stroked his chin. “We’ll have to confirm that Mr Vasilias is being held there first, though, and I’m still not confident with sending just two students in there…”

“What about Velvet?” Ruby suggested. “She’s a faunus!”

“That’s a good idea, actually,” said Glynda. “Ms Scarlatina is a second year student, so she’s more experienced. What’s more, her semblance is mimicry, which would come in handy during the infiltration.”

“But say the three of them sneak in and manage to locate my father,” said Neptune. “What happens next? The White Fang will be everywhere, and they’ve got those massive canons to boost.”

Jaune scratched his head. “Wait a minute…” He scrolled forwards through the video, and paused a couple of frames before the feed ended, pointing. “Those canons are electrical.”

General Ironwood blinked, confused.

Nora grinned.

***

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Neptune asked, anxious.

“I’ll be fine,” Sun said, pecking him on the cheek. “I’m your team leader, you know? Have faith in me.”

“I never asked you to do this,” he said.

“You didn’t have to,” Sun replied, his eyes softening. “He’s an arsehole, but he’s your father. Besides, I wasn’t going to let Blake run in there on her own.”

Neptune snorted. “That’s true.”

They walked over to where the others were, Sun’s tail coiled fondly around Neptune’s arm.

“The lovebirds arrive!” Yang cried theatrically, spreading her arms wide. Blake smiled at them warmly.

“Don’t worry, Neptune,” the cat faunus said. “I’ll take care of him for you.”

Yang snorted. “Yeah, but who’s going to take care of you?”

“I’ll be taking care of both of you,” Velvet interrupted, stepping in. “I’m your upperclassman, so you’ll both do as I say, got it?”

Blake and Sun nodded.

“Good.” Velvet smiled. “If we all stick together we should be fine!”

“I’m still not happy about not being able to go with you,” Yatsuhashi grumbled, the swordsman towering over them in all seven foot of overprotective muscle.

“Relax, honey, Velvet can take care of herself,” Coco dismissed, patting Yatsu on the shoulder. “Make us proud, alright?”

Velvet nodded.

Coco looked at the first years, peering over the top of her sunglasses. “You all had better be ready on standby, right?”

Neptune nodded. “Absolutely.”

“Stick to the plan,” she warned, “and I swear to Dust if I get so much as a drop of water on me I’m going to do some _very_ unpleasant things to you.” Coco stroked her handbag for effect, and Neptune shivered.

“Understood.”

They straightened just as Roxo arrived back from scouting the docks.

“Is he there?” Velvet asked the huntress.

Roxo nodded. “He’s being kept on the second floor of the tall building with the blue door,” she said. “Are you guys ready?”

They nodded.

“The supply truck is on its way now,” Roxo continued. “There are two guards along with the driver, so this’ll be perfect.”

The huntress signalled and they crept through the trees, keeping low. The dirt track ahead of them was narrow and hidden by red leaves, the scent of sweet sap washing through the air. The eight of them arranged themselves either side of the road, preparing for ambush.

They waited, each second that passed gnawing at their hearts, and then –

The rumbling of an engine, steadily making its way towards them. As the truck came into view, Velvet stepped into the road, swaggering with a gait not her own.

“Oi, dickheads!” she shouted, slurring her words so that her voice became unrecognisable as her own. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

The truck slowed to a halt, the driver sticking his head out of the window. It was a goat faunus, not bothering to wear his mask out here.

“Sister faunus, what do you mean?” the driver called suspiciously.

The guards on the back of the truck flaunted their weapons, their gazes scanning the woods so lazily that they only spotted Yatsuhashi when he was twelve feet away from them.

“It’s an ambush!” one of the guards cried just as Yatsu charged, drawing his blade.

Blake leapt from the trees, kicking one of the guards off the truck, and Roxo flicked her wrist, a stick from her fan cracking into the driver’s head. The driver fell unconscious, slumping over the wheel, and the guard that had fallen jumped to his feet, brandishing his gun. Blake struck the weapon out of his hands and Velvet hit his head, the guard going down. The guard that was left yelled, but Yatsuhashi slashed at him with his sword, knocking him straight into a tree and straight into unconsciousness.

“Excellently done,” Roxo said, opening the door so that the driver fell out of the truck, hitting the ground painfully.

Velvet, Blake and Sun set to work, stripping the driver and guards and changing into their clothes.

“This uniform is so tight!” Sun complained, struggling with the buttons.

Neptune shook his head wryly. “Here, I’ll do it for you.”

Sun stood patiently as Neptune did the buttons for him, yet Neptune’s fingers idled with the top button. Weighing things through in his mind, Neptune pulled Sun in for a chaste kiss, his lips lingering.

“Come back to me, okay?” Neptune whispered.

“I will.” Sun smiled. “I’ll bring your Dad with me, too.”

“Okay boys, that’s enough of that,” Roxo interrupted. “You need to get going, now.”

“Are your coms working?” Yang asked.

“Testing,” Blake said into hers.

“Loud and clear!” came Ruby’s voice from the other side.

They nodded, assuming their positions. Velvet was driving, and Blake and Sun were acting as guards.

“Good luck,” said Coco.

“Be safe,” said Yatsu.

“Don’t die,” said Yang.

Neptune met Sun’s eyes one last time as the truck pulled away, and he clenched his fist, ice forming around it.

Yang put a hand on his shoulder. “Nothing bad will happen to them,” she said confidently.

Neptune prayed she was right, because otherwise there would be hell to pay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun dun! I wonder what will happen next...


	25. Huntsmen and Huntresses

The trees sped past them, staining the sky red with their leaves. They rode in silence, none of them much in the mood for talking. The closer they got to the White Fang’s hideout, the quieter it became, wildlife and birdsong frightened off either by the illicit activity or the Grimm that lurked just beyond the forest’s edge.

After about half an hour’s driving, the dock came into view, a smudge of grey metal amongst the crimson trees. The checkpoint leading into the docks was manned, and Sun gulped, glad that his face was hidden by the mask. Blake was the embodiment of calm, however, her hair blowing in the wind, carefree. She was used to this type of thing, Sun supposed. Velvet must have been copying either Blake or someone else, because all of her normal nervousness was gone, her body language confident bordering on haughty.

“We’re coming up to the checkpoint now,” Blake said into her com.

“Roger,” said Ruby from the other side. Everyone else was waiting just beyond the hideout, along with several platoons of Atlesian soldiers in case things went wrong. Not that they would go wrong, of course. Their plan (well, Jaune and Ironwood’s plan) was flawless. Probably.

Velvet pulled up by the checkpoint and exchanged a few words with the guards. Whatever she said, she said it well, because they were let through without a hitch. As luck would have it, they were led directly into the building with the blue door, where Neptune’s father was being kept.

It was only after the blue door closed behind them that Sun started to think: _what the hell are we doing!?_

There were White Fang mercenaries _everywhere._ There must have been hundreds of them in this warehouse alone, all of them busy loading and unloading crates and boxes with ruthless efficiency. Several Atlesian Paladins were stomping around the place, their massive guns making Sun very uncomfortable.

Velvet parked the truck and got out, motioning to the other two. Sun and Blake dropped down next to her, sticking close.

“Follow me, and walk with confidence,” she whispered. They nodded.

Velvet strutted off towards the stairs as if the place was hers, her posture offering no room for argument. Blake followed suit, and Sun came after, swishing his tail proudly whilst simultaneously resisting the urge to run as far away as he possibly could.

Faunus nodded to them as they headed upstairs, only once they got to the first floor, Velvet realised they were more than a little lost. Not to be perturbed, she grabbed a passer-by roughly.

“Where did you move the prisoner too?” she snarled.

“S-Sir Adam wanted him moved to the dust storage room!” the girl squeaked, alarmed.

Blake froze.

“And where would that be?” Velvet asked arrogantly.

“A-A left then s-second right!” the girl cried timidly.

Velvet snorted, letting her go, and they were on their way. Blake seemed distracted, though, checking over her shoulders anxiously, almost as if she were… afraid.

“You okay?” asked Sun.

“Yeah,” she replied, shaking her head.

There were two guards stationed outside the storage room, but Velvet strode past them, pushing the doors open.

“What are you doing!?” one of the guards cried. “You’re not allowed in here!”

“The prisoner’s to be moved,” Blake said, cutting in front of Velvet. “Adam’s orders.”

She stared right at the guard, daring him to protest, but the guard stepped back hastily.

“If Sir Adam orders it, then it must be done,” he said.

Blake lifted her head. “Indeed.”

Once they were alone again, Blake lost her composure, trembling slightly.

“Blake?” Sun asked anxiously. “Who’s this Adam?”

Blake shook her head. “Not now,” she said.

Sun met Velvet’s eyes, worried, but there was no time for further questions. Neptune’s father was chained to the far wall, his clothes all torn up and his face bruised, his lip bleeding. He looked up as he heard them approach, his eyes defiant despite his hopeless situation.

“What do you want, you animals?” Saturn Vasilias spat. “I told you, you’re not laying a _hand_ on my wife or son, do you hear?”

Sun scowled, remembering back to the last thing Saturn had said to Neptune.

“You’re being moved,” said Velvet, unchaining Saturn from the wall but keeping his handcuffs on.

Saturn snarled at them, struggling, but Velvet was stronger than she looked. As she dragged him along, Saturn met Sun’s eyes and Neptune’s father frowned, but Velvet pushed him and he stumbled forwards, breaking eye contact. They lead Saturn back downstairs, and sweat started to trickle down Sun’s back, his heart thundering in his chest. A couple of heads turned their way, but Blake mentioned Adam and those heads turned back again, too frightened to question what they saw. Sun was getting a bad feeling about this. If this Adam guy was as terrifying as he seemed, and they had to fight him…

Just as they made their way outside the warehouse, they were stopped by a faunus who knew what they were doing.

“Hey! Where are you taking the prisoner?” the faunus asked, frowning.

“Where moving him,” said Velvet. “Adam’s orders.”

The faunus raised his eyebrow. “Adam left two hours ago.”

“Well he told us to… um…” Velvet stammered, unsure of what to say. As the faunus drew his gun, Velvet kneed him in the groin, punching him in the face and knocking him out. “Oh dear…” She scratched her head anxiously, as if surprised by what she’d done.

Blake glanced around, but luckily no one noticed as they dragged the unconscious faunus round the side of the building.

“What’s going on?” Saturn cried, confused.

Sun sighed, pulling off his mask. “Hello!”

Saturn gasped. “You! You bastard, I _knew_ you were trouble – ”

“We’re here to rescue you, douchebag,” Sun interrupted. “Keep your voice down, otherwise you’ll get us all killed!”

Saturn blinked. “What…”

A guard turned the corner and froze. They froze, too. The guard’s face fell, taking a step backwards. Sun rushed forwards, drawing his staff and thwacking the guard round the head. Unfortunately, this did not go unnoticed, the rest of the guards shouting at each other.

Blake undid Saturn’s handcuffs hurriedly, hissing into her earpiece: “We have a bit of a situation here.”

“You don’t say!” Sun growled, ducking as a bullet whistled over his head and firing one of his own.

“I don’t get it,” Saturn was saying, sliding to the ground. “Why are you helping me? You’re faunus…”

Blake sighed. “Most faunus are perfectly reasonable people, you know,” she said. “Some of us are misguided, though, just how some humans are misguided.”

“But – ”

There was a whirring sound followed by a series of short tremors as the canons unearthed themselves, humming to life.

“We could really use some help right now!” Velvet cried into her com.

“Hold on just a little longer!” came Yatsu’s voice, just as Velvet wheel-kicked one guy and Blake stabbed another.

“I’m not doing this for you,” Sun added, glaring at Saturn. “I’m doing this for Neptune.”

They had no time for anything else, however, as the canons locked onto them. Sun swore, ducking behind a crate and pulling Saturn with him, but just as they were about to fire, the perimeter alarm went off.

“Hey!” cried a voice.

They looked up.

 

Scarlet floated thirty feet in the air, crimson sparks dancing around him, and he was carrying someone else. The canons had a new target, and they fired –

 

just as Scarlet threw Nora.

 

The balls of lightning hit Nora head on and the redhead grinned maniacally, pink electricity flaring around her. She whooped as her hammer extended, and Blake just had time to scream “Take cover!” as Nora landed, striking the earth with her hammer.

The shockwave was devastating, knocking them all flat with a crushing force. Sun stumbled to his feet quickly, his ears ringing, and watched helplessly as the canons juddered yet still fired.

Nora pumped her chest as the lightning hit her, however, and she surged forwards with an unrestrained glee, smashing away joyfully. The canons were rendered rubble in a matter of seconds.

The White Fang looked just as shell-shocked as everyone else, standing around stupidly. Sun didn’t blame them.

“Operation Crimson Lightning was a success,” Blake said into her com.

“Roger,” replied Ruby. “We’re coming in now.”

Blake nodded.

“Can you move?” Velvet asked Saturn, helping to his feet.

“I think so,” the man replied, blinking groggily. “Is… is she on our side?”

“Oh yeah, that’s Nora,” Blake replied. “She’s crazy.”

Scarlet dropped down next to them elegantly, his cutlass drawn.

“I’d say that went rather well,” he said. “Wouldn’t you?”

“Where’s the airship?” Sun asked.

“It’s coming around now,” Scarlet replied. “All we need to do is get to the ocean – ”

The ground shuddered underneath them as five stolen paladins burst from the warehouse, the giant robots readying their guns menacingly. They were flanked by dozens of faunus, all of them brandishing guns or swords, and more of the White Fang kept appearing, encircling them.

 

They were now cut off from their escape route.

 

Sun sighed.

Saturn paled. “We’re all going to die.”

Scarlet cuffed him round the head. “No we won’t, Mr Douchebag. Just hang on tight.”

Nora joined them in the middle of the docks, breathing heavily.

“Any idea how we’re going to take care of the big, scary robots?” she asked excitedly.

Blake grimaced. “We’ll leave that to you.”

Nora grinned, settling into her stance just as Yang burst from the treeline on her motorcycle, yelling furiously.

“Get away from my friends, you fuckers!” she roared, running over several White Fang and crashing her motorcycle into one of the paladins. She leapt off it at the last moment, using her gauntlets to propel her upwards and punching the paladin in the cockpit.

With that, the rest of the huntsmen and huntresses arrived.

There was a rush of rose petals as Ruby cut through the enemy, hurrying to her sister. She swung her scythe at the paladin but it grazed off the polished metal, Ruby skidding to a halt. Yang dropped down beside her and Blake ran off to join her teammates, Weiss readying her rapier.

Jaune yelled as the rest of team JNPR attacked, Pyrrha a league above the rest of them. She was a whirlwind of crimson and gold, the White Fang making the mistake of running away from Nora and into her.

Sage hurtled forwards, propelled by green dust, and he swept with his blade, a trail of jade energy slamming faunus into the ground.

“How nice of you to show up,” Scarlet quipped as they stood back to back, forming a circle around the Neptune’s father.

Sage grinned. “I’m sorry my entrance wasn’t as impressive as yours,” he replied.

_“I_ thought your entrance was impressive, Sage,” Sun teased.

Sage snorted indignantly.

“Where’s Neptune?” Saturn asked, standing up carefully. His eyes flickered nervously around the battlefield. “What have you done with my son?”

_“I_ didn’t do anything,” Sun snapped. “You were the one that broke his heart.”

Saturn was about to protest, but… he stopped.

Neptune’s father flinched as a man with a spear charged at them, but Sun twirled his staff, knocking the spear out of the way and sweeping the man’s legs out from under him.

“Did I really break his heart?” Saturn whispered.

Sun snorted. “Of course. What did you expect when you spoke to him like that?”

Team RWBY were dancing with two of the paladins at the same time, Blake and Ruby flitting in between them while Yang hit them from behind and Weiss froze them with her glyphs. Team JNPR was taking care of another robot, Ren and Pyrrha holding it back while Nora dented it with her hammer and Jaune coordinates their attacks. That still left two more paladins, however, and that was when team CFVY took the spotlight.

“Do you think you boys can handle one of them?” Coco asked Fox and Yatsu.

Fox nodded, and Coco smirked.

“Good.” She put on her sunglasses. “Velvet, back me up.”

The team split, and Coco unlocked her handbag, the machine gun hidden inside clicking into place. Velvet copied her, teasing open the box of her camera. With a burst of light, an exact replica of Coco’s gun appeared in Velvet’s hands, and both girls settled into mirrored stances, tossing their hair.

One of the paladins turned to face them, its pilot leering.

 

The girls fired.

 

Bullets were met with bullets, ricocheting through the air, yet no matter how many different parts there were on the paladin that could spin and rotate, there was only one robot – and two huntresses. They circled round the paladin, leaving a trail of shell cases in their wake, and concentrated their fire on the robot’s joints. With a sickening crack, the paladin fell to its knees, and from then on its fate was sealed. The pilot ejected just as the gunfire snaked its way up to the cockpit, the paladin exploding.

Meanwhile, Fox rushed the other robot, flames criss-crossing across its body. He climbed up its arm and leapt to the top, twisting in the air and ramming his blades into the cockpit, puncturing a hole in the glass. The pilot cursed, shaking the robot wildly and swatting at Fox with giant arms, but Yatsuhashi charged, slicing the paladin clean in two.

Across the battlefield, team RWBY was up on their luck. Weiss summoned a black glyph to propel Ruby forwards, their leader slamming into the paladin and ripping its head off with her scythe. She leapt out of the way just as the paladin fell over, knocking into the other one that Blake and Yang were fighting. The second paladin stumbled, joining its decapitated comrade on the floor, but the pilot was still fighting. Not giving him the chance to recover, Yang screamed and punched through the glass, pulling the pilot out of the cockpit and flinging him across the docks.

Team JNPR were having just as much fun. Nora fired a round of pink dust into the pilot’s face, obscuring his vision, and Pyrrha used her semblance to rip the robot’s arm off, hurtling it like a spear straight through the paladin’s body. Not yet done, Pyrrha picked up the robot’s frame and swung it round, throwing it through the White Fang’s ranks.

Before they had time to celebrate, however, something crept out from behind one of the stolen train cars, just as an airship’s engine roared to life. However, this airship wasn’t there to rescue them, oh no – it was the White Fang, getting away.

The spider droid jittered into view just as Roxo and General Ironwood arrived, the general accompanied by a small, ginger girl. They were joined by a squadron of Atlesian soldiers, which was just as well, as more of the White Fang’s reinforcements had sprung up from nowhere.

Roxo snorted, spreading her fans. “I’ll take care of the airship.”

Ironwood nodded. “Penny, take care of the droid.”

The girl saluted smartly. “Yes, sir!”

Roxo whistled and the sound carried her into the air, lifting her on top of the blue-doored building. Her eyes narrowing, she flicked her fans, and the sticks cut through the air like knives. Several of them missed, but three of them managed to bury themselves into the airship, purple dust blinking.

Roxo smirked as she whistled again, and the airship was ripped apart by a violet explosion, debris falling into the sea.

Penny walked up to the spider droid with an unnervingly calm grin on her face, waving to Ruby as she passed. Floating swords danced from her back, singing as they sliced through the air. Penny signalled and they danced in a circle, the blades pointing directly at the droid.

She smiled as the droid swung to face her, its red eyes beeping.

 

The droid was torn apart by a dazzling fountain of green energy, Penny giving Ironwood a small thumbs up as she did so. Ironwood nodded approvingly, walking over to where Saturn was.

 

“Mr Vasilias,” Ironwood said. “If you’ll come with us, we’ll bring you to safety shortly.”

They all regrouped as Sun caught sight of their airship in the distance, that would likely be with them in under a minute. The White Fang were still frantically attacking them, but the Atlesian knights kept them at bay, Ironwood’s soldiers firing round after round of cyan energy at the faunus.

Blake grinned at him. “See? There was nothing to worry about – ”

She caught sight of something in the distance, and froze.

Sun turned to look, expecting another spider droid or something, but all he saw was… a man.

A horned, crimson-haired faunus, his eyes covered by a Grimm mask. The White Fang parted before him, and he drew a blood-red katana, the blade shimmering with a malevolent energy.

Blake took a step backwards instinctively, her eyes wide with horror, and Sun knew:

 

_Adam._

 

“Who’s that?” Yang frowned. Adam shouted something to his subordinates, although he was too far away for Sun to make out what he said.

“Trouble,” Sun replied. “Neptune, there’s a bull faunus with red hair and a glowing sword we need taking care off,” he hissed into his com.

A pause. “Got it.”

Sun tensed just as Blake growled and Adam charged, too fast for any of them to have seen it coming.

 

Just as he did so, however, the ocean exploded.

 

Neptune rode atop the tsunami that crashed down on them, washing harmlessly over all of the huntsmen and huntresses but punching through the White Fang. Neptune gestured with his trident and the water swallowed Adam whole, freezing with an ear-jarring crack while the rest of the water fell back into the sea.

Most of the White Fang were unable to move, and the rest of them fled upon seeing Adam trapped in a spire of jagged ice, a startled expression upon his face.

Blake sighed in relief, collapsing to the floor.

Neptune leaned against his trident smoothly. “Hey, gorgeous,” he said, winking.

Sun grinned. “Hey yourself.”

Neptune’s smile fell when he saw Saturn watching them. Neptune walked over and his father stood up, limping slightly.

“Neptune…” Saturn started, his voice hoarse.

“Father,” Neptune acknowledged. He turned away without another word, ignoring the hand Saturn reached out. If the others noticed, they said nothing.

“We should get going as soon as we can,” said Ironwood, heading over to the edge of the docks.

Wind blasted around them as the airship landed, the soldiers covering them as they boarded it. Sun breathed a sigh of relief once they were safely in the air, eagerly ripping open the chest of his stuffy uniform. His hand brushed against Neptune’s and Neptune took his hand, smiling warmly. Sun rested his head against Neptune’s shoulder, closing his eyes, but not before he noticed the brief glance that flickered between Neptune and his father. Both of them looked away quickly, Neptune tense, and Sun rubbed circles into Neptune’s palm softly, trying his best to make things right…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hooray! The penultimate chapter! Sorry this one took a while to update; I had exams and didn't want to rush it (and I'm still not quite happy with how it turned out, but oh well). We've only got one more chapter left! Hopefully that'll bring everything to a conclusion... ^^


	26. The Sunset

“Speak with him,” Sun said.

Neptune looked away, clenching his fists. “But…”

“Neptune, he was _kidnapped,”_ said Sage. “I know what went on between the two of you, but… you’ve got to say _something,_ if not for his sake then for your mother’s sake.”

Neptune sighed, too emotionally exhausted to be angry any more. “I just…”

He didn’t know what to _feel_ anymore. His father had rejected him so bluntly, yet he’d been held hostage by the White Fang. His mother had said such horrible things, yet she’d apologised for it, crying into his shoulder. What was he supposed to do!?

Sage placed a hand on Neptune’s shoulder, and his head cleared a little.

“Go to them,” Sun repeated, and Neptune nodded.

He opened the door with a soft click, and walked in quietly to the room where his parents were. They looked up when he entered, and his mother’s eyes widened, but none of them said anything. Rhea had been crying again, overcome with relief. Saturn had been treated by the medics, his lip stitched and his forehead bandaged, yet he looked beat and harrowed.

Neptune coughed awkwardly. “Mother.” He nodded, then paused. “Father…”

“Neptune, we…” his mother started, then hesitated. “We’re sorry.”

Neptune snorted spitefully. “What for?”

“For insulting your relationship with Sun,” Rhea said. “We’re sorry.”

Neptune sighed, shaking his head. He swallowed painfully, his voice strained. “Why?”

“It’s difficult for us,” she replied slowly. “We had no idea you were gay, and… we didn’t expect your partner to be a faunus.”

He closed his eyes.

“Listen, Neptune, I realise now that we… that we had the wrong impression of them,” Rhea admitted. “You’ve got to understand that all we ever heard of them was on the news, and…”

Rhea stopped suddenly, her voice catching. She clenched her fists, blinking back tears.

“You probably don’t remember the night your sister died,” Saturn said, breaking the silence. He looked up, and there was grief in his eyes.

Neptune froze, his heart rattling in his chest.

“You were too young, and convinced yourself that it was a monster that attacked the ship,” Saturn continued, his voice heavy. “It… it was a monster, but only one wearing the mask of a Grimm.”

Neptune’s throat tightened. “The White Fang…”

Rhea looked into her lap, and Saturn shook his head.

“No, it wasn’t the White Fang,” his father explained. “They… were still a peaceful organisation at that time. It was just a faunus whom acted on his own, blowing a hole in himself and the ship.” Saturn’s voice wavered. “From then on, whenever I saw a faunus, I… it was always that same mask… that same face…” Saturn looked up. “I guess I blamed the faunus for taking your sister away from us.”

“Dad…” Neptune’s mouth was dry. “My semblance is water,” he struggled to say. “Ceres died trying to save me, and I…”

“Neptune, don’t you dare!” his mother cried, tears streaming down her face. “Don’t you dare blame yourself, not for one moment!”

“But – ”

“It wasn’t your fault, Neptune,” Rhea said. “It wasn’t your fault.”

His father breathed in deeply, trembling. “I know I’m not the best person in the world, and I know I’m not a great father…” he whispered. “I struggle to control my temper, and… things will be difficult, for us and for you, but…” Saturn struggled to hold back the tears. “Please, Neptune, I… I’m sorry, I… I don’t want to lose you, too…”

Neptune couldn’t hold himself back any longer, embracing his father.

“It’s okay, Dad,” he cried. “It’s okay…”

“I love you, son,” Saturn sobbed, hugging Neptune.

“I love you too, Dad,” Neptune replied.

Rhea joined in the hug, and –

 

Neptune finally breathed, letting go of all of the burdens he’d been bearing, and…

He was at peace.

 

They broke apart and his mother smiled through her tears, taking his hand.

“You’re our son, no matter what,” she said, her eyes fierce.

Neptune nodded mutely, too overcome to speak.

His father shuffled anxiously. “Um…” Saturn swallowed. “Can I…” He met his wife’s eyes.

“We’d like to meet Sun,” said Rhea. “Properly.”

Neptune smiled. “Okay.”

Neptune lead his parents to where the others were waiting.

“Mum, Dad, these are my teammates, Sage Ayana and Scarlet David,” Neptune introduced.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr and Mrs Vasilias,” Sage said, smiling warmly.

“Yeah,” Scarlet muttered. Sage elbowed him. Scarlet quickly smiled.

“And this is our leader, and my boyfriend, Sun Wukong,” Neptune said.

His mother sketched an awkward wave. “Hello…”

“Hi…” Sun frowned.

They stood in silence, Neptune beginning to sweat a little and Sun shuffling uncomfortably.

To everyone’s surprise, Saturn bowed, low.

“Thank you for rescuing me from the White Fang and for looking after my son!” he cried anxiously.

Sun blinked in surprise. “You’re… welcome.”

Saturn straightened.

“Um…” said Scarlet.

Rhea smiled warmly. “We’ll be cheering for you all in the Vytal Tournament!”

Sun grinned. “Don’t worry, we’ll make you proud.”

Neptune’s parents glanced at each other, and Saturn swallowed.

“We’re already proud,” he said.

Neptune smiled.

***

“…I tell you, I was _not_ expecting him to bow to me!” Sun said.

Blake shook her head wryly. “Well, you did save his life.”

“I know, but still,” Sun said. “It was nice to see Neptune so happy.”

“I’ll bet.”

They turned the corner, and Sun had to shield his eyes from the sun, shedding brilliant hues of orange and purple as it set.

Blake smiled. “I’m glad everything’s smoothed over, now.”

Sun nodded. “Yeah.”

***

“Remember when all of this started?” Weiss asked.

Neptune snorted. “How could I forget? You gave me the fright of my life.”

Weiss laughed, tossing her hair.

Neptune shook his head. “So much has happened since that dance…”

“That might be an understatement,” Weiss replied.

Neptune rolled his eyes.

“I still can’t get over how _everyone_ knew Sun had a crush on me – except me!”

“Trust us, we can’t get over it, either,” the heiress replied. “And speak of the devil!”

The two of them joined Blake and Sun by the balcony overlooking Vale, the evening breeze whistling softly between them. Sun grinned, poking Neptune playfully with his tail. Neptune poked him back.

Weiss snorted. “Come on, Blake,” she said, smiling. “We’d better find Ruby and Yang before they do something stupid.”

The girls left, and Neptune silently thanked them for this moment alone with his boyfriend. The sky was alight, crimson flames burning into rose and flowering into a peachy amber, the last hints of blue fading above their heads. The sun’s halo was sinking, its soft light sparkling off the swirling clouds. The wind crept in from the sea, running through the streets of Vale to jump up at the cliff and gently caress their skin, rustling the leaves on the trees as it passed and leaving behind only the faint smell of brine.

Funnily enough, Neptune had grown to like the scent of the sea – that clear, fresh smell, of saltwater and open air…

“Why do you think the sky goes that colour when it’s dusk?” Sun asked lazily.

Neptune shrugged. “It’s probably something to do with the different wavelengths of light and the way they’re scattered by the molecules in the atmosphere.”

Sun shoved him fondly. “Nerd.”

Neptune elbowed him back. “Idiot.”

They faced each other, and once again Neptune was reminded of just how beautiful Sun was. His clear, blue eyes glittered in the light, dancing with joy and energy. His smile was radiant, exposing his pearly white teeth, and Neptune ran a hand along his smooth, tan skin, marvelling at how the sunlight glanced off his pale, blond hair.

“You know you love me really,” Sun teased, his mouth parting slightly as he leaned in, filling Neptune’s nose with his scent.

Neptune grinned, pressing their noses together and brushing their lips chastely.

“I do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *breathes a huge sigh of relief* We're finished! FINALLY! What did you guys think? I hope the ending was satisfactory! Comments and kudos would be amazing, and once again I'd just like to say a massive THANK YOU to everyone who has read all this way! Your comments and kudos genuinely made my days! *sighs again* I feel as if I've invested way too much of myself in this fic, and now that it's over I don't know what to do...
> 
> THAT WAS A LIE I HAVE A SEQUEL IN MIND HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
> 
> By sequel I mean I have a couple of unconnected scenes in my head that I might be able to string together in a random, jumbled up mess of words. Some of the ideas I have involve such plants as a Cherry Tree and perhaps even a White Rose (I'm not sure about that one, though), and some of my other ideas were stolen directly from your comments! Of course, it all depends on whether anyone would be interested in reading a potential sequel. What do you guys think?


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